Adrenaline

Brian Hoffman is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is as such very well qualified to write this biography of adrenaline, something that has never been done before in such detail. We all have some passing knowledge of adrenaline, but this book is a comprehensive briefing and history. Adrenaline is a molecule that drives some of our most extreme and powerful experiences. It was discovered in 1894 and it was soon realised that it was a vital regulator of physiological functions, and has been involved in many Nobel prize-winning discoveries. Its biochemical pathways have been applied in the development of new drugs and specifically in asthma and beta-blockers. The author introduces us to the principal investigators and their stories as well as exploring its place in the popular imagination as both life-giving and lethal. Indeed, the book opens with an account of a nurse using adrenaline injections to murder cardiac patients. The story of adrenaline parallels the development of modern medicine into the scientific discipline underpinned by the pharmaceutical industry. An engaging read.