Giancarlo Comi – författare

Recent developments in basic and applied science have led to better understanding of disease mechanisms and more efficient therapies for multiple sclerosis. The most effective way of managing these patients is through a carefully planned neurorehabilitation programme. The main aims are to reduce disability and handicap and improve functions through effective training, stimulating activity and social participation. As the first text on recovery of function and neurorehabilitation in MS, this book focuses on mechanisms of recovery, application of neuroplasticity to therapeutic interventions, and determination of the efficiency of these interventions. Basic principles of neurorehabilitation in MS are described, as well as techniques for treating specific syndromes which may occur in MS. Written and edited by leading clinicians and researchers, the book achieves an excellent balance between basic science, pathophysiology, and clinical rehabilitation. An essential resource for clinicians and therapists treating patients with multiple sclerosis, neurophysiologists, and health care advisors.

In the past few years there have been impressive advances in the implementation of modern MRI techniques for the assessment of MS patients with the ultimate goal to define MRI markers of MS evolution. The authors of this volume not only review these new techniques, such as magnetization transfer (MT) MRI, diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI and proton MR spectroscopy (MRS), that are increasingly being used to monitor MS evolution, but also those, such as functional MRI (fMRI), cell-specific MRI, perfusion MRI, and microscopic imaging with ultra-high field MRI, that are emerging as additional promising tools for improving our understanding of MS pathophysiology. Strengths and weaknesses of all these modern quantitative MRI techniques for the study of MS are extensively covered in this book. The book also provides a valuable summary of the state of the art.