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Tumours of the central nervous system in infancy and childhood
Surg Neurol 1983;20:261-2
26 I
Book R e v i e w s
Epilepsy. Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease Research Publications, Volume 61. A.A. W a r d , Jr., J. Kiffin P e n r y , and D o m i n i c k P. P u r p u r a , editors. 4 1 6 pp., $49.50. N e w Y o r k : R a v e n Press, 1983. This volume, the sixty-first in a series of research publications sponsored by the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease, is a compilation of the papers delivered at the 1981 Annual Meeting. The publication comprises 20 chapters, which are adequately indexed. The subject matter covers many aspects of epilepsy, including experimental epilepsy, epidemiology, epileptogenesis, clinical pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of action of antiepileptic drugs, newer anticonvulsants, side effects, use of emission computed tomography, and psychosocial characteristics of epileptic patients. The topic of epilepsy is now so broad that no publication can be expected to cover all aspects; the subjects are not covered in detail, but concise and current views are given. Each chapter is well referenced. The neurosurgeon should find two chapters of particular interest: (1) The selection process for surgery of intractable complex partial seizures, by Delgado-Escueta and Walsh; and (2) perspectives for surgical therapy of epilepsy, by Ward. The chapter by Delgado-Escueta and Walsh reviews their experience in the management of 111 patients with uncontrolled seizures over a span of 12 years. The selection process is outlined in detail. Thirty-six patients underwent depth electrode recordings. Of 31 patients who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy, 17 had cessation of seizures. Treatment failures were generally attributed to the presence of extratemporal features. The chapter on surgical therapy by Ward reemphasizes the criteria for selection of candidates for operative treatment. Ward indicates that the prevalence of focal epilepsy in the United States is 800,000 cases, that 360,000 are potential candidates for surgery, and that the number of candidates for operation would decrease to 54,000 through the screening process. The reasons for underutilization of surgical therapy are discussed. The challenge for the future is to develop other techniques to treat those patients with intractable seizures who are not currently candidates for focal cortical resection. This volume contains a wealth of information for neurologists, neurosurgeons, and investigators who are immersed in the many and varied problems of caring for the epileptic patient. A. L. SAHS, M.D. Iowa City, Iowa © 1983 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
Tumeurs du Rachis, Spondylolisthesis L4-5 et L5-S 1, Rachis Traumatique Neurologique. Prof. R. R o y - C a m i l l e et al. P u b l i s h e d by Masson, Paris, N e w Y o r k and elsewhere. 1983. 205 pp. Prix public T T C : 260 F. This slender volume is written in French and will be of limited value to those who do not read and understand French. It is concerned with the orthopedic treatment of tumors of the spine, spondylolisthesis, and trauma of the spine with neurological involvement. Prof. Roy-Camille has devised a means of stabilizing the spine using metal plates held in place by screws that pass inward through the pedicles into the vertebral bodies. He has also described the biopsy of tumors and other pathological conditions in the vertebral bodies by approaching these lesions throug the pedicles. The various chapters in this paperbound book are extremely brief. PAUL C. BUCY, MD, Editor
Tumours of the Central Nervous System in Infancy and Childhood. D. V o t h , P. G u t j a h r , and C. Langmaid, editors. B e r l i n H e i d e l b e r g - N e w Y o r k : S p r i n g e r - V e r l a g , 1982. 438 pp. $ 4 4 . 0 0 This work comprises 65 separate, brief presentations of papers by 138 participants in a symposium held in Mainz, West Germany between October 22 and 24, 1981, on the subject of brain tumors in infancy and childhood. Of the participants at the symposium, 120 were from East and West Germany, seven were from Switzerland, three were from Hungary, two each were from Belgium, Great Britain, and Austria, and one each was from Canada and Sweden. Perhaps, then, this hardly represents a concensus of the experience in this field of the global scientists and clinicians--conspicuouslyabsent were representatives from Japan and the United States. It is all the more curious, therefore, that the volume is published in English (British english, as indicated by the spellings of tumours, programmes, centre, etc.). The editors state that, "One of the main aims of this symposium was to bring all the participating scientists and clinicians together, and to have the present day position of brain turnouts in childhood defined." Within the geographic limi0090-3019/83/$3.00
262
Surg Neurol 1983;20:261-2
tations noted above they have succeeded fairly well. Clinicians in other countries can profit from the essentially German experience with childhood brain tumors. This experience, in a limited way, covers intracranial tumor localization by radiography, including CAT scans, and the surgical, radiologic, monoand poly-chemical therapies, alone and in combination. The editors recognize, as will the reader of this volume, that they have not produced a definitive contribution, for they state that another symposium on this subject should be held in the near future to resolve and clarify the many moot points that have been exposed. Yet, the volume has a certain value for the pediatric neurosurgeon in that it details the essentially German experience with childhood brain tumors. H.M. ZIMMERMAN, MD
Bronx. New York
Antiepileptic Drugs, Second Edition. Dixon M. Woodbury, J. Kiffin Penry, and C.E. Pippenger, editors. 898 pp., $65.00. New York: Raven Press, 1982. The long-awaited second edition of Antiepileptic Drugs is now available. After a decade of significant advances in the pharmacology of these drugs, an update of this text was greatly needed. Improved techniques for the diagnosis of epileptic seizures, and the availability of more sensitive methods of quantification of antiepileptic drugs in body fluids, demands
Book Reviews
from the physician a more elaborate knowledge of the pharmacology of these drugs. Only slight changes from the first edition have been made in the format of the book. Four chapters have been added to the section on general principles: Practical Pharmacokinetics; Principles of Drug Action: Structure-Activity Relationships and Mechanisms; Experimental Detection, Quantification, and Evaluation of Anticonvulsants; and Experimental Quantification and Evaluation of AnticonvulsantDrugs in a Primate Model. Each of the major antiepileptic drugs is covered, as in the previous edition, in several chapters. In this edition, a chapter on the mechanisms of action of each of the major drugs has been added. The final sections cover other, less widely used antiepileptic drugs and similar compounds presently under research. The number and quality of contributors reflect the remarkable efforts on the part of the editors to provide "in a single source all of the recent advances in knowledge concerning the anitepileptic drugs." To a large extent this goal has been met. The topics are covered in depth and each chapter is well referenced. Although the book contains a substantial amount of basic pharmacologic data, most of it is readily applicable to clinical practice. This book represents the most complete review volume of the pharmacology of the antiepileptic drugs now available. It is highly recommended as a reference source to all people involved in the medical management of epileptic patients, and it is certainly obligatory reading for specialists in the field. JORGE ASCONAP]~, M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
26 I
Book R e v i e w s
Epilepsy. Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease Research Publications, Volume 61. A.A. W a r d , Jr., J. Kiffin P e n r y , and D o m i n i c k P. P u r p u r a , editors. 4 1 6 pp., $49.50. N e w Y o r k : R a v e n Press, 1983. This volume, the sixty-first in a series of research publications sponsored by the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease, is a compilation of the papers delivered at the 1981 Annual Meeting. The publication comprises 20 chapters, which are adequately indexed. The subject matter covers many aspects of epilepsy, including experimental epilepsy, epidemiology, epileptogenesis, clinical pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of action of antiepileptic drugs, newer anticonvulsants, side effects, use of emission computed tomography, and psychosocial characteristics of epileptic patients. The topic of epilepsy is now so broad that no publication can be expected to cover all aspects; the subjects are not covered in detail, but concise and current views are given. Each chapter is well referenced. The neurosurgeon should find two chapters of particular interest: (1) The selection process for surgery of intractable complex partial seizures, by Delgado-Escueta and Walsh; and (2) perspectives for surgical therapy of epilepsy, by Ward. The chapter by Delgado-Escueta and Walsh reviews their experience in the management of 111 patients with uncontrolled seizures over a span of 12 years. The selection process is outlined in detail. Thirty-six patients underwent depth electrode recordings. Of 31 patients who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy, 17 had cessation of seizures. Treatment failures were generally attributed to the presence of extratemporal features. The chapter on surgical therapy by Ward reemphasizes the criteria for selection of candidates for operative treatment. Ward indicates that the prevalence of focal epilepsy in the United States is 800,000 cases, that 360,000 are potential candidates for surgery, and that the number of candidates for operation would decrease to 54,000 through the screening process. The reasons for underutilization of surgical therapy are discussed. The challenge for the future is to develop other techniques to treat those patients with intractable seizures who are not currently candidates for focal cortical resection. This volume contains a wealth of information for neurologists, neurosurgeons, and investigators who are immersed in the many and varied problems of caring for the epileptic patient. A. L. SAHS, M.D. Iowa City, Iowa © 1983 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
Tumeurs du Rachis, Spondylolisthesis L4-5 et L5-S 1, Rachis Traumatique Neurologique. Prof. R. R o y - C a m i l l e et al. P u b l i s h e d by Masson, Paris, N e w Y o r k and elsewhere. 1983. 205 pp. Prix public T T C : 260 F. This slender volume is written in French and will be of limited value to those who do not read and understand French. It is concerned with the orthopedic treatment of tumors of the spine, spondylolisthesis, and trauma of the spine with neurological involvement. Prof. Roy-Camille has devised a means of stabilizing the spine using metal plates held in place by screws that pass inward through the pedicles into the vertebral bodies. He has also described the biopsy of tumors and other pathological conditions in the vertebral bodies by approaching these lesions throug the pedicles. The various chapters in this paperbound book are extremely brief. PAUL C. BUCY, MD, Editor
Tumours of the Central Nervous System in Infancy and Childhood. D. V o t h , P. G u t j a h r , and C. Langmaid, editors. B e r l i n H e i d e l b e r g - N e w Y o r k : S p r i n g e r - V e r l a g , 1982. 438 pp. $ 4 4 . 0 0 This work comprises 65 separate, brief presentations of papers by 138 participants in a symposium held in Mainz, West Germany between October 22 and 24, 1981, on the subject of brain tumors in infancy and childhood. Of the participants at the symposium, 120 were from East and West Germany, seven were from Switzerland, three were from Hungary, two each were from Belgium, Great Britain, and Austria, and one each was from Canada and Sweden. Perhaps, then, this hardly represents a concensus of the experience in this field of the global scientists and clinicians--conspicuouslyabsent were representatives from Japan and the United States. It is all the more curious, therefore, that the volume is published in English (British english, as indicated by the spellings of tumours, programmes, centre, etc.). The editors state that, "One of the main aims of this symposium was to bring all the participating scientists and clinicians together, and to have the present day position of brain turnouts in childhood defined." Within the geographic limi0090-3019/83/$3.00
262
Surg Neurol 1983;20:261-2
tations noted above they have succeeded fairly well. Clinicians in other countries can profit from the essentially German experience with childhood brain tumors. This experience, in a limited way, covers intracranial tumor localization by radiography, including CAT scans, and the surgical, radiologic, monoand poly-chemical therapies, alone and in combination. The editors recognize, as will the reader of this volume, that they have not produced a definitive contribution, for they state that another symposium on this subject should be held in the near future to resolve and clarify the many moot points that have been exposed. Yet, the volume has a certain value for the pediatric neurosurgeon in that it details the essentially German experience with childhood brain tumors. H.M. ZIMMERMAN, MD
Bronx. New York
Antiepileptic Drugs, Second Edition. Dixon M. Woodbury, J. Kiffin Penry, and C.E. Pippenger, editors. 898 pp., $65.00. New York: Raven Press, 1982. The long-awaited second edition of Antiepileptic Drugs is now available. After a decade of significant advances in the pharmacology of these drugs, an update of this text was greatly needed. Improved techniques for the diagnosis of epileptic seizures, and the availability of more sensitive methods of quantification of antiepileptic drugs in body fluids, demands
Book Reviews
from the physician a more elaborate knowledge of the pharmacology of these drugs. Only slight changes from the first edition have been made in the format of the book. Four chapters have been added to the section on general principles: Practical Pharmacokinetics; Principles of Drug Action: Structure-Activity Relationships and Mechanisms; Experimental Detection, Quantification, and Evaluation of Anticonvulsants; and Experimental Quantification and Evaluation of AnticonvulsantDrugs in a Primate Model. Each of the major antiepileptic drugs is covered, as in the previous edition, in several chapters. In this edition, a chapter on the mechanisms of action of each of the major drugs has been added. The final sections cover other, less widely used antiepileptic drugs and similar compounds presently under research. The number and quality of contributors reflect the remarkable efforts on the part of the editors to provide "in a single source all of the recent advances in knowledge concerning the anitepileptic drugs." To a large extent this goal has been met. The topics are covered in depth and each chapter is well referenced. Although the book contains a substantial amount of basic pharmacologic data, most of it is readily applicable to clinical practice. This book represents the most complete review volume of the pharmacology of the antiepileptic drugs now available. It is highly recommended as a reference source to all people involved in the medical management of epileptic patients, and it is certainly obligatory reading for specialists in the field. JORGE ASCONAP]~, M.D. Winston-Salem, North Carolina