Calcium Antagonists [antikvár]

PrefaceMy desire to escape from trade, which I thought vicious and selfish, and to enter into the service of science, which I imagined made its pursuers amiable and liberal, induced me to take the bold and simple step of writing to Davey. . .Michael Faraday, 1812The bold step to which Faraday referred was, of course, his letter to Daveya letter that led to Faraday obtaining a place in the Royal Institution and ultimately in scientific history. The bold and possibly rash step I am taking here is to attempt to provide a rational account of the calcium antagonists; of how they work and their therapeutic promise.It is not difficult to date the precise time and place when my interest in calcium antagonists was first aroused. It was at a meeting held on Capri, in the mid-sixties, and the subject matter was the pharmacology of prenylamine. This meeting was important for another reason, in that it was there that I first became acquainted with Albrecht Fleckenstein. Since that meeting in Capri, a large proportion of my time has been devoted to increasing my understanding of these drugs.In preparing this book I have been fortunate to have had the help of my colleaguesin particular J. Dillon, J. Elz, S. Panagiotopoulos and D. Buckley. I am deeply indebted to Nita DeBonde, who has so patiently and painstakingly typed the manuscript from my handwritten drafts. Anyone familiar with my handwriting knows that this is no mean task.I am grateful to the Department of Medicine in the University of Melbourne for allowing me to prepare this book.Winifred G. Nayler