Principles and practice of restorative neurology

231 damage and dysfunction. The breadth of topics addressed in this book illustrates the importance of subcortical structures in h u m a n neuropsychological processes. JOHN R. ABSHER Dept. of Neurology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine Winslon-Salem, NC, USA

Principles and Practice of Restoratit:e Neurology, by Robert R. Young and Paul J. Delwaide (eds.), Butterworth Heinemann, 1992, London, 222 pages, $40.00 This volume, edited by Robert Young, Department of Neurology, University of California at Irvine, California and Paul J. Delwaide, Chief, Department University of Neurology, Liege, Belgium is number 11 of a series of which all are of interest to the neurological clinician. In this reviewer's opinion, the current volume should be viewed in light of the ever increasing interest in neurological rehabilitation which both the public and health care professionals have shown in recent years. The socio-political reasons for this have recently been espoused by Seizer in a forthright discussion of the subject (Annals of Neurology 1992: 695-699), in which he avers that neurologists have been participating in the rehabilitation of disorders of the nervous system for decades, but there is a need for enhanced

training in this new sub-specialty, including the development certification programs in rehabilitation or restorative neurology. With this in mind, the volume edited by Young and Delwaide includes a panorama of topics beginning with the epidemiology of neuro-disability, biochemical changes which cause secondary injury from stroke and trauma, brain plasticity, pharmacotherapy, biomechanical and rehabilitation engineering, biofeedback, outcome measures, management of patients with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinsonism and a concluding summary of future goals. It is complemented by seemingly less related topics, including microsurgical D R E Z - t o m y (dorsal root entry zone) for the treatment of pain and spasticity, thalamotomy in Parkinsonism, surgical treatment of epilepsy and applications of molecular genetics to restorative neurology, as well as an approach to the genetic correction of defects and disorders of the CNS. From this potpourri, one can better understand the concept of a host of possibilities which some include within the rubric restorative neurology. I predict that as time goes on, more and more neurologists will become involved in restorative activities which moves neurologists who have been diagnosticians and acute care givers into the arena of chronic disease and its management. I recommend this book for those who are interested in an overview of the subject. JAMES F. TOOLF, M.D. Editor,

Journal of the Neurological Sciences