International Conference on Atherosclerosis

The title,International Conference on Atherosclerosis, is impressive. Two years have elapsed since the symposium was held in Milan, Italy, in 1977. This expensive, 762-page book contains 105 papers from 278 contributors—44 from the United States (18 from Houston and New Orleans). I am sorry to report that with some exceptions, many of the short papers are "quickies" that add little to knowledge of atherosclerosis. For instance, high-density lipoproteins are discussed in cursory fashion, with little background and no marshalling of evidence. A variety of relatively new antihyperlipemic drugs are mentioned briefly, such as procetofene, metformin, and triadenol, none of which is within a stone's throw of the American market. The discussions are so brief that it is hard to discover whether or not we should be interested. It is manifestly impossible to cull the good from the mediocre papers from 105 lectures. There are some distinguished investigators, none of