- Email: [email protected]
Companion To Clinical Neurology Second Edition,
Journal of the Neurological Sciences 223 (2004) 207 – 208 www.elsevier.com/locate/jns
Book reviews
Companion to Clinical Neurology. Second Edition By William Pryse-Phillips, Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-515938-1, 1112 pages, £95, US$125 Most practicing neurologists and those charged with training neurology residents will welcome this book which is the result of very diligent work. The author gives compact descriptions of most diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and of skeletal muscle. At the same time, the text is a historical encyclopedia recognizing many contributors to the science of neurology. Whenever possible, their photographs have been added. In fact, these photos are the only illustrations. Clinical neurologists use many eponyms, and the ‘‘Babinski sign’’ is widely known even among non-neurologists. When looking for the extensor plantar responses as an indicator of upper motor neuron disease, few will think about the correct spelling of Babinski’s name (actually Babin´ski) or the political maneuvering that precluded him from succeeding Charcot at the Salpeˆtrie`re in Paris. Beyond recognition of the great neurologists of the past and persisting use of eponyms, the author flawlessly enters the era of ‘‘new’’ neurological disorders, such as the complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection in the nervous system, and the prion diseases, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy and its potential public health risk. As a benevolent exercise, this reviewer attempted to find an uncommon neurological syndrome from his own repertoire of interests (superficial siderosis of the central nervous system) and was pleasantly surprised to see an accurate description and a reference. It would indeed appear that the author did no omit anything. Nearly all descriptions contain one or more references for further study, and the bibliographic list is enormous (6139 references). Occasionally, the author’s personal interest in an illness is apparent: the description of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is long and detailed (4 1/2 pages) while multiple sclerosis, a more common disease, garners only 1 1/2 pages. This remarkable ‘‘companion’’ deserves an enthusiastic recommendation. Perhaps, the book does not properly belong into a library. Its correct place is on the wards and in the clinics. When asked to buy it for this purpose, and preferably more than one copy, the librarian could
not possibly object to a cost of US$125.00. The price is only US$5 higher than the first edition in 1995. Arnulf H. Koeppen Neurology and Pathology Services VA Medical Center, 113 Holland Avenue Albany, NY 12208, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +1-518-626-6373; fax: +1-518-626-6369 doi:10.1016/j.jns.2004.04.001
John Booss, Margaret M. Esiri, Viral encephalitis in humans, ASM Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, ISBN: 1-55581-240-6, 277 pages, $ 139.95 This text on viral encephalitis will appeal to neurologists, neurosurgeons, and specialists in infectious diseases. The authors have organized the clinical description in such a way that it will aid clinicians in their differential diagnosis of a patient who was taken ill quite recently. At that stage of medical care, the diagnosis of ‘‘encephalitis’’ is not secure, and if such an infection of the brain is present at all, the nature of the responsible organism is not known. The practitioner must consider the season, the presence of similar recent cases, prior inoculations, the immune status of the patient, the acuity and progression of the illness, the neurological examination, imaging studies, and laboratory results including cerebrospinal fluid data. The book is traditional because it recalls the history of the encephalitides and emphasizes clinicoanatomic correlation. One of the authors (M.M.E.) is a neuropathologist and rightly laments the worldwide decline in the number of autopsies. Viral infections of the human central nervous system (CNS) evolve all the time. The introduction of measles vaccination has greatly altered the natural history of measles encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), and postvaccinal encephalomyelitis. Seemingly new viral diseases have progressed within a few years from isolated regions to involve an entire continent. An outstanding example is West Nile virus encephalitis that began as an endemic of a ‘‘new’’ viral CNS infection in the New York City area and spread all across North America in only a few years. Clinicians who never had to deal with paralytic polio will now have to learn again how to manage a viral infection that has a distinctly polio-like
Book reviews
Companion to Clinical Neurology. Second Edition By William Pryse-Phillips, Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-515938-1, 1112 pages, £95, US$125 Most practicing neurologists and those charged with training neurology residents will welcome this book which is the result of very diligent work. The author gives compact descriptions of most diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and of skeletal muscle. At the same time, the text is a historical encyclopedia recognizing many contributors to the science of neurology. Whenever possible, their photographs have been added. In fact, these photos are the only illustrations. Clinical neurologists use many eponyms, and the ‘‘Babinski sign’’ is widely known even among non-neurologists. When looking for the extensor plantar responses as an indicator of upper motor neuron disease, few will think about the correct spelling of Babinski’s name (actually Babin´ski) or the political maneuvering that precluded him from succeeding Charcot at the Salpeˆtrie`re in Paris. Beyond recognition of the great neurologists of the past and persisting use of eponyms, the author flawlessly enters the era of ‘‘new’’ neurological disorders, such as the complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection in the nervous system, and the prion diseases, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy and its potential public health risk. As a benevolent exercise, this reviewer attempted to find an uncommon neurological syndrome from his own repertoire of interests (superficial siderosis of the central nervous system) and was pleasantly surprised to see an accurate description and a reference. It would indeed appear that the author did no omit anything. Nearly all descriptions contain one or more references for further study, and the bibliographic list is enormous (6139 references). Occasionally, the author’s personal interest in an illness is apparent: the description of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is long and detailed (4 1/2 pages) while multiple sclerosis, a more common disease, garners only 1 1/2 pages. This remarkable ‘‘companion’’ deserves an enthusiastic recommendation. Perhaps, the book does not properly belong into a library. Its correct place is on the wards and in the clinics. When asked to buy it for this purpose, and preferably more than one copy, the librarian could
not possibly object to a cost of US$125.00. The price is only US$5 higher than the first edition in 1995. Arnulf H. Koeppen Neurology and Pathology Services VA Medical Center, 113 Holland Avenue Albany, NY 12208, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +1-518-626-6373; fax: +1-518-626-6369 doi:10.1016/j.jns.2004.04.001
John Booss, Margaret M. Esiri, Viral encephalitis in humans, ASM Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, ISBN: 1-55581-240-6, 277 pages, $ 139.95 This text on viral encephalitis will appeal to neurologists, neurosurgeons, and specialists in infectious diseases. The authors have organized the clinical description in such a way that it will aid clinicians in their differential diagnosis of a patient who was taken ill quite recently. At that stage of medical care, the diagnosis of ‘‘encephalitis’’ is not secure, and if such an infection of the brain is present at all, the nature of the responsible organism is not known. The practitioner must consider the season, the presence of similar recent cases, prior inoculations, the immune status of the patient, the acuity and progression of the illness, the neurological examination, imaging studies, and laboratory results including cerebrospinal fluid data. The book is traditional because it recalls the history of the encephalitides and emphasizes clinicoanatomic correlation. One of the authors (M.M.E.) is a neuropathologist and rightly laments the worldwide decline in the number of autopsies. Viral infections of the human central nervous system (CNS) evolve all the time. The introduction of measles vaccination has greatly altered the natural history of measles encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), and postvaccinal encephalomyelitis. Seemingly new viral diseases have progressed within a few years from isolated regions to involve an entire continent. An outstanding example is West Nile virus encephalitis that began as an endemic of a ‘‘new’’ viral CNS infection in the New York City area and spread all across North America in only a few years. Clinicians who never had to deal with paralytic polio will now have to learn again how to manage a viral infection that has a distinctly polio-like