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Correlative neurosurgery, ed. 3
Book Reviews
Kuru: Early Letters and Field-Notes from the Collection of D. Carleton Gajdusek Edited by Judith Farquhar and D. Carleton Gajdusek New York, Raven Press, 1980 366 pp., $32.00
Correlative Neurosurgery, Ed. 3 Edited by Richard C. Schneider, Edgar A. Kahn, Elizabeth C. Crosby, and James A. Taren Springfield, IL, Charles C Thomas, 1982 1.669 pp. (two w~lumes), $225.00
Reviewed by Paul C. Bucy, M.D., Editor
Reviewed by Paul C2. Bucy, M.D., Editor
Without a doubt, one of the most outstanding scientific breakthroughs regarding the nervous system and its diseases made in recent years was the discovery of the slow viruses by Dr. D. Carleton Gajdusek. Such viruses have been shown to be responsible for kuru, an epidemic disease among natives of a part of New Guinea. This disease was almost always fatal and primarily affected women and young children. Similar slow viruses are also responsible for a form of presenile dementia (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) in man and for scrapie in sheep and goats. It is possible that similar viruses are also responsible for a number of other neurological diseases, the etiology of which is as yet unknown. For these discoveries Dr. Gajdusek was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Gajdusek conducted his investigations ofkuru and its cause primarily in the jungles of New Guinea among cannibalistic tribes whose members were victims of the disease. The savage terrain and people were not the only handicaps which Dr. Gajdusek had to contend with. Opposition to his work came from the United States and from Australia which controlled New Guinea. There was continuously inadequate financial support and the envy and jealousy of bureaucrats and scientists who regarded Gajdusek as aggressively pursuing work which was within their rightful domain. It would appear that the frustrations and difficulties which Dr. Gajdusek encountered constituted the motivation for this book. Few readers will find it sufficiently interesting to read word for word for scientific content. It does, however, provide a historical perspective. The book is very repetitive, even boring, and the letters are long and verbose. One searches in vain for a clear, concise summary. Even the "Introduction" does not supply this satisfactorily. Certainly this book should be available in every first-class medical and biological library.
These two volumes constitute a neurosurgical classic. The authors should be extremely proud of their accomplishments. No neurological surgeon should be without this work and all neurological surgeons will profit from reading it. If young neurological surgeons and those in neurosurgical training will read this work carefully they will learn much and will save themselves from future disasters. The authors have described their successes and their failures with admirable candor. They have also pointed out how others can avoid their mistakes. These w~lumes describe neurological surgery as it is performed at one institution, the University of Michigan. Fortunately neurosurgery at Michigan has always, ever since the days of Max Minor Peet, been of very high quality. It has also been conservative in nature, but that is not to say that at Michigan they have hesitated to make advances and employ new methods. This two-volume set of books is not a detailed description of neurosurgical operative techniques, although some are presented extensively. Some subjects have been dealt with briefly or not at all. In view of past interest in surgical procedures on the sympathetic nervous system at Michigan, one is a bit surprised to find so little on this subject in these volumes. Correlative Neurosurgery differs from other books on the subject by discussing the anatomy and physiology concerned with the various conditions presented. In large measure this can be attributed to Elizabeth Crosby, an outstanding neuroanatomist and neurophysiologist. The neurosurgeons responsible for these books are to be congratulated on having obtained the cooperation of Dr. Crosby. If properly used, her sections will help to augment knowledge in these basic sciences for neurological surgeons and neurosurgical residents. No medical library can claim to be complete which does not have this work available on its shelves. Correlative Neurosurgery is recommended without reservation.
473
Kuru: Early Letters and Field-Notes from the Collection of D. Carleton Gajdusek Edited by Judith Farquhar and D. Carleton Gajdusek New York, Raven Press, 1980 366 pp., $32.00
Correlative Neurosurgery, Ed. 3 Edited by Richard C. Schneider, Edgar A. Kahn, Elizabeth C. Crosby, and James A. Taren Springfield, IL, Charles C Thomas, 1982 1.669 pp. (two w~lumes), $225.00
Reviewed by Paul C. Bucy, M.D., Editor
Reviewed by Paul C2. Bucy, M.D., Editor
Without a doubt, one of the most outstanding scientific breakthroughs regarding the nervous system and its diseases made in recent years was the discovery of the slow viruses by Dr. D. Carleton Gajdusek. Such viruses have been shown to be responsible for kuru, an epidemic disease among natives of a part of New Guinea. This disease was almost always fatal and primarily affected women and young children. Similar slow viruses are also responsible for a form of presenile dementia (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) in man and for scrapie in sheep and goats. It is possible that similar viruses are also responsible for a number of other neurological diseases, the etiology of which is as yet unknown. For these discoveries Dr. Gajdusek was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Gajdusek conducted his investigations ofkuru and its cause primarily in the jungles of New Guinea among cannibalistic tribes whose members were victims of the disease. The savage terrain and people were not the only handicaps which Dr. Gajdusek had to contend with. Opposition to his work came from the United States and from Australia which controlled New Guinea. There was continuously inadequate financial support and the envy and jealousy of bureaucrats and scientists who regarded Gajdusek as aggressively pursuing work which was within their rightful domain. It would appear that the frustrations and difficulties which Dr. Gajdusek encountered constituted the motivation for this book. Few readers will find it sufficiently interesting to read word for word for scientific content. It does, however, provide a historical perspective. The book is very repetitive, even boring, and the letters are long and verbose. One searches in vain for a clear, concise summary. Even the "Introduction" does not supply this satisfactorily. Certainly this book should be available in every first-class medical and biological library.
These two volumes constitute a neurosurgical classic. The authors should be extremely proud of their accomplishments. No neurological surgeon should be without this work and all neurological surgeons will profit from reading it. If young neurological surgeons and those in neurosurgical training will read this work carefully they will learn much and will save themselves from future disasters. The authors have described their successes and their failures with admirable candor. They have also pointed out how others can avoid their mistakes. These w~lumes describe neurological surgery as it is performed at one institution, the University of Michigan. Fortunately neurosurgery at Michigan has always, ever since the days of Max Minor Peet, been of very high quality. It has also been conservative in nature, but that is not to say that at Michigan they have hesitated to make advances and employ new methods. This two-volume set of books is not a detailed description of neurosurgical operative techniques, although some are presented extensively. Some subjects have been dealt with briefly or not at all. In view of past interest in surgical procedures on the sympathetic nervous system at Michigan, one is a bit surprised to find so little on this subject in these volumes. Correlative Neurosurgery differs from other books on the subject by discussing the anatomy and physiology concerned with the various conditions presented. In large measure this can be attributed to Elizabeth Crosby, an outstanding neuroanatomist and neurophysiologist. The neurosurgeons responsible for these books are to be congratulated on having obtained the cooperation of Dr. Crosby. If properly used, her sections will help to augment knowledge in these basic sciences for neurological surgeons and neurosurgical residents. No medical library can claim to be complete which does not have this work available on its shelves. Correlative Neurosurgery is recommended without reservation.
473