In memoriam: David Horrobin

Abstract

David Horrobin, the founding editor of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, died in April 2003. As an editor of this thematic issue of the journal, it is my honour to dedicate it to his memory. David wrote prolifically about scientific issues and corporate involvement in health and disease. More than just describing his own thoughts and observations, his vision was also to encourage dialogue and debate about all aspects of medicine and modern medical treatment. He strongly supported the publication of fundamentally sound, though perhaps novel or controversial ideas. In part, he did this by founding and editing two journals, first Medical Hypotheses and then Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (formerly Prostaglandins and Medicine, then Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Medicine). In 2000, I was privileged to be asked by David to join the Editorial Board of Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids. One of the rewards (and requirements) of being on the Editorial Board was to be able to choose a topic on which to invite papers for a thematic issue of the journal. I chose the topic of ‘Metabolic and Health Implications of Moderate Ketosis and the Ketogenic Diet’ because evidence is emerging that metabolism of ketone bodies (ketones for short) and PUFA is linked. The evidence for this metabolic connection is elaborated upon in the Preface to this thematic issue.