Book review Ricordi, C. (ed) Pancreatic islet cell transplantation. R, G. Landes Company, Austin: 1992. 480 pp. (ISBN 1-879702-08-8) This volume highlights the centennial of the first successful transplantation of pancreatic fragments to reverse diabetes in a dog carried out by Minkowski and the first attempt by Williams to treat a 15year-old diabetic child with pancreatic fragments from a sheep. Dr. Camillo Ricordi has done a great job in bringing together the 42 chapters which comprise this book. Although an update of the aetiology of Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes is lacking, most areas of islet transplantation research have been covered by many of the scientists active in this field of research. As pointed out in the foreword by Dr. Paul Lacy the timing of the publication of this book is ideal since islet transplantation has become a clinical reality during the last two-three years. In one respect, however, the timing of publication was unsuitable. The proceedings of an international symposium held in Gubbio, Italy, in September 1991 (Diabetes, Nutrition & Metabolism, Vol. 5, Suppl. 1-3,1992) reached my laboratory more or less the same day as this book. Quite naturally, you then find that many of the contributors are the same for both publications9Upon closer scrutiny a number of chapters in the Ricordi book are found to be very similar or even identical to chapters published in the Gubbio volume. No doubt this is indicative of the disproportion between the number of conferences and publications in the field of islet transplantation and the actual rate of production of new scientific data. The quality of the different chapters varies, some contain limited new sdentific information, while others are extremely informative9 The paper on islet xenotransplantation by Hering for example, is

very comprehensive and contains references to all efforts which have contributed to this field of research. There are also five chapters which cover the different aspects of encapsulation of pancreatic islets. I also enjoyed reading the very informative paper by Wright on experimental transplantation using principal islets of teleost fish. Most valuable in this book is, however, the overview written on the clinical experiences from seven different centres (Edmonton, Miami, Milan, Minneapolis, Paris, Pittsburgh and Leicester) performing human islet transplantation 9 Different approaches have been used but in general the success has been very limited9 In their concluding remarks most groups agree that atlograft rejection appears to be the major challenge and that further laboratory studies are required. The editorial lay-out of the book is very elegant and the illustrations of high standard9 Somewhat surprisingly the so-called author index is not a classic index of authors who have contributed to the actual book, but rather a registry of scientists quoted by name throughout the different chapters. The value of such an index is doubtful and especially so when it contains several mistakes. In general, this book serves as a comprehensive survey of the research activities being performed in different islet transplantation laboratories. No doubt it will become the bible for future young students entering this field of research. Although I agree with Dr. Lacy that islet transplantation is facing a bright future, I am less convinced that a second edition of this book will become redundant. I would therefore hope that Dr. Ricordi, despite Dr. Lacy's recommendation in the foreword, will continue his research on islet transplantation. A. Andersson (Uppsala)

Erratum Diabetologia, Volume 36, Number 4, April 1993 pp 352057, Blum et al.: Congenital absence of insulin cells in a neonate with diabetes rnellitus and mutase-deficient methylmalonic acidaemia On page 353, 2nd column, line 33 should read 9 grossly elevated (10.1 tool/tool creatinine) methylmalonic acid instead of (62.5 pmol/g creatinine).