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British medical bulletin
126
BOOK REVIEWS
The main topics of the conference were "The Long Term Results of the Surgical Treatment of Tumours of the Central Nervous System" and "The Long Term Results of Treatment of Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida". In addition there are papers on neuroradiology of childhood, recent diagnostic and operative techniques, and anaesthetic problems in infant craniotomy. The most outstanding paper in the symposium on tumours was the one by Wechsler and Z~ilch on the pathology of neurogenic tumours in childhood and adolescence; their attitude towards experimental neuro-oncology is to be praised : this section of the paper is excellent. The well-written paper on the long-term results of the treatment of subdural haematomas and effusion in infants, by Guthkelch, in the section on this subject, is up-to-date and outstanding. The chapter on hydrocephalus and spina bifida should be read by all surgeons and physicians concerned with the management of these difficult cases, and they will find the chapters on the social and psychological problems of spina bifida by Lawrence and the long term results of treatment of myeloDevelopment
meningocele by Lorber to be of special interest. I do not easily accept the idea of performing cerebral angiograpby in the newborn and infants by injection of contrast medium into the left ventricle after venous catheterization of the heart as recommended in the paper by Blaauw and de ViUeneuve in the chapter on neuroradiology and angiography. Direct puncture of the common carotid artery is easy, safe and the most satisfactory method in use for babies and infants. To improve the results of treatment in paediatric neurosurgery, more interest must be aroused in this subject. This volume is recommended because it is an excellent review of the present position of paediatric neurosurgery and it will also prove to be ~l guide to future developments. The book is printed on excellent paper and is well-illustrated. It will prove of great value to neurosurgeons and neurologists who are responsible for the care of babies and infants suffering from surgical neurological disease. t P. LASSMAN
a n d R e g e n e r a t i o n i n t h e N e r v o u s S y s t e m , British M e d i c a l Bulletin,
V o l . 30, N o . 2 ( M a y 1974), p p . 1 0 5 - 1 9 4 , B r i t i s h C o u n c i l , 65 D a v i e s S t r e e t . L o n d o n W 1 Y 2 A A , £2.25. R. M. Gaze and M. J. Keating, as editors of this edition of the British Medical Bulletin, have collected together a number of papers providing an interesting tour of the development of the nervous system. Much relates to the amphibian, but some papers deal with higher animals, including man. Prestige reviews neuronal proliferation, migration and cell death in the development of the central nervous system, showing the considerable loss of cells that occurs during development, and the further loss brought about by loss of functional connections. Watson shows very similar effects when considering the boutons terminaux. Craggs also reviews the plasticity of the synapse. Gaze reconsiders Sperry's (1943) studies of neuronal specificity in the regenerating optic nerves of urodels. He concludes that there is good evidence for such specificity in this system, and for nonrandom or directed regeneration, but that plasticity can also be demonstrated. Mark also deals with specificity when considering the innervation of muscles of fish and salamanders following denervation. Balazs discusses the metabolic and hormonal factors affecting brain development. Berry and Riches continue the consideration of regeneration in the nervous system, advancing a new theory to explain the poverty of central axonal regeneration. They suggest that the central nervous lesions break down the blood-brain barrier, allowing immunological mechanisms,
either cellular or antibody, to attack axons attempting to regenerate. Keating provides a succinct review of the interesting recent work on binocular visual connections, and Blakemore discusses developing functional connections in the mammalian visual system. Moving into the clinical sphere, Leek describes some of the epidemiological clues to the aetiology of neural tube defects. Bower reviews the development of human infant behaviour, tests of which show the remarkably early presence of many important responses. Tizard, as well as Dobbing and Smart, present papers dealing respectively with the human and animal aspects of brain vulnerability during development, particularly to malnutrition. The two final papers are those of Clarke and Clarke reviewing the psychological aspects of mental retardation and behavioural change, and of McDonald reviewing studies of remyelination in the central nervous system following axonal and demyelinating lesions. This edition of the British Medical Bulletin will be of interest to those working on brain development and in the field of human mental retardation. The format is the familiar one of the British Medical Bulletin, which is perhaps a trifle turgid. Though each paper constitutes a review, it would nevertheless be helpful if each had its own summary. W. (}. BRADLEY
BOOK REVIEWS
The main topics of the conference were "The Long Term Results of the Surgical Treatment of Tumours of the Central Nervous System" and "The Long Term Results of Treatment of Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida". In addition there are papers on neuroradiology of childhood, recent diagnostic and operative techniques, and anaesthetic problems in infant craniotomy. The most outstanding paper in the symposium on tumours was the one by Wechsler and Z~ilch on the pathology of neurogenic tumours in childhood and adolescence; their attitude towards experimental neuro-oncology is to be praised : this section of the paper is excellent. The well-written paper on the long-term results of the treatment of subdural haematomas and effusion in infants, by Guthkelch, in the section on this subject, is up-to-date and outstanding. The chapter on hydrocephalus and spina bifida should be read by all surgeons and physicians concerned with the management of these difficult cases, and they will find the chapters on the social and psychological problems of spina bifida by Lawrence and the long term results of treatment of myeloDevelopment
meningocele by Lorber to be of special interest. I do not easily accept the idea of performing cerebral angiograpby in the newborn and infants by injection of contrast medium into the left ventricle after venous catheterization of the heart as recommended in the paper by Blaauw and de ViUeneuve in the chapter on neuroradiology and angiography. Direct puncture of the common carotid artery is easy, safe and the most satisfactory method in use for babies and infants. To improve the results of treatment in paediatric neurosurgery, more interest must be aroused in this subject. This volume is recommended because it is an excellent review of the present position of paediatric neurosurgery and it will also prove to be ~l guide to future developments. The book is printed on excellent paper and is well-illustrated. It will prove of great value to neurosurgeons and neurologists who are responsible for the care of babies and infants suffering from surgical neurological disease. t P. LASSMAN
a n d R e g e n e r a t i o n i n t h e N e r v o u s S y s t e m , British M e d i c a l Bulletin,
V o l . 30, N o . 2 ( M a y 1974), p p . 1 0 5 - 1 9 4 , B r i t i s h C o u n c i l , 65 D a v i e s S t r e e t . L o n d o n W 1 Y 2 A A , £2.25. R. M. Gaze and M. J. Keating, as editors of this edition of the British Medical Bulletin, have collected together a number of papers providing an interesting tour of the development of the nervous system. Much relates to the amphibian, but some papers deal with higher animals, including man. Prestige reviews neuronal proliferation, migration and cell death in the development of the central nervous system, showing the considerable loss of cells that occurs during development, and the further loss brought about by loss of functional connections. Watson shows very similar effects when considering the boutons terminaux. Craggs also reviews the plasticity of the synapse. Gaze reconsiders Sperry's (1943) studies of neuronal specificity in the regenerating optic nerves of urodels. He concludes that there is good evidence for such specificity in this system, and for nonrandom or directed regeneration, but that plasticity can also be demonstrated. Mark also deals with specificity when considering the innervation of muscles of fish and salamanders following denervation. Balazs discusses the metabolic and hormonal factors affecting brain development. Berry and Riches continue the consideration of regeneration in the nervous system, advancing a new theory to explain the poverty of central axonal regeneration. They suggest that the central nervous lesions break down the blood-brain barrier, allowing immunological mechanisms,
either cellular or antibody, to attack axons attempting to regenerate. Keating provides a succinct review of the interesting recent work on binocular visual connections, and Blakemore discusses developing functional connections in the mammalian visual system. Moving into the clinical sphere, Leek describes some of the epidemiological clues to the aetiology of neural tube defects. Bower reviews the development of human infant behaviour, tests of which show the remarkably early presence of many important responses. Tizard, as well as Dobbing and Smart, present papers dealing respectively with the human and animal aspects of brain vulnerability during development, particularly to malnutrition. The two final papers are those of Clarke and Clarke reviewing the psychological aspects of mental retardation and behavioural change, and of McDonald reviewing studies of remyelination in the central nervous system following axonal and demyelinating lesions. This edition of the British Medical Bulletin will be of interest to those working on brain development and in the field of human mental retardation. The format is the familiar one of the British Medical Bulletin, which is perhaps a trifle turgid. Though each paper constitutes a review, it would nevertheless be helpful if each had its own summary. W. (}. BRADLEY