Metabolism of Human Diseases

Book excerpt: “Metabolism of Human Diseases” examines the physiology of key organs (e.g. brain, eye, lung, heart, blood vessels, blood, immune system, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, liver, fat tissue, kidney, reproductive system, teeth, bone and joints) and how defective metabolism and signaling pathways within these organs contribute to common human diseases. The latter include depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, macular degeneration, glaucoma, asthma, COPD, pneumonia, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart failure, stroke, varicose veins, Sickle cell disease, hyperlipidemia, fever, sepsis, allergies, peptic ulcer, gastroenteritis, lactose intolerance, colon cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, gout, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, dental caries, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer and prostate cancer. The book also describes commonly used drugs and explains their molecular targets. It provides the first comprehensive and detailed summary of the metabolism of individual organs and their physiological and pathological functioning. Thus it serves as a useful supplement to previous textbooks of human physiology. “Metabolism of Human Diseases” is a must-have, state-of-the-art textbook written by International experts for graduate students, postdocs and scientists in metabolic research, biochemistry, physiology and pharmacy as well as for physicians interested in molecular mechanisms underlying common human diseases.