Psychiatric Disorders with a Biochemical Basis

Psychiatric Disorders with a Biochemical Basis; Donaldson D. 241 pages. New York: Parthenon; 1998. $45.00. ISBN 11850707898. Order phone 800-735-4744.

Field of medicine: Psychiatry.

Format: Hardcover book.

Audience: Psychiatrists and general physicians.

Purpose: To educate physicians about the metabolic, endocrinologic, pharmacologic, toxicologic, and nutritional factors underlying psychiatric illness.

Content: The book focuses on biochemical abnormalities associated with psychopathologic disease. Topics include basic neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, clinical chemistry, psychiatric side effects of drugs and other substances, the Munchausen syndrome, laboratory investigation of psychiatric disorders, and neurodevelopmental aspects of psychopathology.

Highlights: A wide range of material is covered in only 241 pages, making the book useful for physicians with little time to read. A relatively up-to-date reference section and a useful index are included.

Limitations: The book lacks the rich phenomenologic descriptions that would make it useful to psychiatrists.

Related reading: Organic Psychiatry: The Psychological Consequences of Cerebral Disorder, 3rd edition, by Lishman (Blackwell Science, 1998), covers this area of psychiatry much more comprehensively and includes the discussion of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology that Psychiatric Disorders with a Biochemical Basis lacks. Psychiatric Disorders with a Biochemical Basis might be useful for primary care physicians who need to understand that psychiatric symptoms are not specific to idiopathic psychiatric disorders but may reflect abnormal brain structure and biochemistry.

Reviewer: Michael J. Schrift, DO, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.

• Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians