The process of programmed cell death or apoptosis has, in the decade preceding the publication of this 2005 book, been shown to be centrally involved in the pathogenesis of the significant majority of human illnesses and injury states. The cellular attrition observed in most degenerative conditions is apoptotic in nature; conversely a failure of apoptosis has been proposed to underlie many forms of cancer. The central role of apoptosis in human disease clearly brings with it clinical promise; for example, the strong possibility exists that attenuation of apoptotic death will significantly...