Current Clinical Neurology – serie

Leading specialists comprehensively review the state-of-the-art for evaluating and managing the sexual and reproductive dysfunction experienced by men and women suffering chronic neurologic disease. Aside from dealing with such specific neurologic diseases as stroke multiple sclerosis spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury these distinguished authorities also consider developmental disabilities in children neuromuscular diseases in adolescence and diseases of the peripheral nerve. They also include in their review a discussion of the latest thinking about the physiology of male and female sexual and reproductive responses the role of the menstrual cycle in neurologic disease and neurologic problems in the geriatric population.

Drs. Leonard Scinto and Kirk Daffner provide a comprehensive survey of new diagnostic approaches to Alzheimer's disease. The authoritative contributors critically survey the most promising current research on early diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease, including the elucidation of changes in the brain revealed by structural and functional neuroimaging, as well as the characteristic patterns of cognitive decline that are documented by sensitive neuropsychological tests, various genetic markers, and biological assays. Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease illuminates the complex issues surrounding the search for early markers of this increasingly widespread disease. It will establish a new standard reference guide for all those working with Alzheimer's patients.

David A. Gelber, MD, and Douglas R. Jeffery, MD, have assembled a much-needed collection of authoritative review articles discussing the pathophysiology of chronic neurologic spasticity and detailing its often complex medical and surgical management. Written by leading experts in neurology and rehabilitation, the book covers physical and occupational therapy, splinting and orthotics, electrical stimulation, orthopedic interventions, nerve blocks, the use of botulinum toxin, and novel treatments such as tizanidine, intrathecal medications, and neurosurgical techniques. The contributors also review coordinated approaches to the treatment of spasticity and specific neurological diseases such as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injury.

A panel of highly experienced neurosurgeons, neurophysiologists, neuropsychologists, and neuroanatomists join forces to create an integrated, cutting-edge survey all of the methodologies necessary for successful surgical treatment. On the surgical side they review a variety of techniques for Parkinson's disease, including thalamotomy, pallidotomy and bilateral pallidotomy, subthalamotomy, pallidal and thalamic deep brain stimulation, and subthalmic deep brain stimulation. Surgical therapy for tremor and dystonia is also covered. On the patient side, the authors systematically examine the key issues involved in any surgical procedure: Patient selection, patient assessment before and after surgery, brain target localization, and postoperative programming of brain stimulators.

Drs. Leonard Scinto and Kirk Daffner provide a comprehensive survey of new diagnostic approaches to Alzheimer's disease. The authoritative contributors critically survey the most promising current research on early diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease, including the elucidation of changes in the brain revealed by structural and functional neuroimaging, as well as the characteristic patterns of cognitive decline that are documented by sensitive neuropsychological tests, various genetic markers, and biological assays. Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease illuminates the complex issues surrounding the search for early markers of this increasingly widespread disease. It will establish a new standard reference guide for all those working with Alzheimer's patients.

A panel of highly experienced neurosurgeons, neurophysiologists, neuropsychologists, and neuroanatomists join forces to create an integrated, cutting-edge survey all of the methodologies necessary for successful surgical treatment. On the surgical side they review a variety of techniques for Parkinson's disease, including thalamotomy, pallidotomy and bilateral pallidotomy, subthalamotomy, pallidal and thalamic deep brain stimulation, and subthalmic deep brain stimulation. Surgical therapy for tremor and dystonia is also covered. On the patient side, the authors systematically examine the key issues involved in any surgical procedure: Patient selection, patient assessment before and after surgery, brain target localization, and postoperative programming of brain stimulators.

Despite major advances in the understanding of stroke mechanisms that have occurred over the past quarter century, stroke continues to rank among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Although currently it may be difficult to believe, early doubts were expressed as to whether inter­ ventions in risk factors for either coronary disease or stroke would actually lead to a reduction in the incidence of these disorders. However, large clini­ cal trials in hypertension, carotid disease, atrial fibrillation, and antithrombotic and antiplatelet therapies have effectively demonstrated the efficacy of these targeted interventions in reducing stroke incidence. More recently, after earlier uncertainty regarding the role of elevated lipids as a risk factor for stroke, clinical trials of the statins have also demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence of ischemic stroke. However, as em­ phasized in Handbook of Stroke Prevention in Clinical Practice, despite these gains and the initial decline in stroke incidence that did occur in the 1960s and 1970s, the incidence of stroke disappointingly has failed to show a fur­ ther significant decline since that time. The editors of Handbook of Stroke Prevention in Clinical Practice raise the very important question of whether recognized strategies for stroke preven­ tion have been widely or effectively implemented. They correctly empha­ size the critical importance of identifying the mechanism of stroke in each patient so as to properly direct prevention and treatment. As Dr.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating and dehumanizing illness affecting increasingly large numbers of elderly and even middle-aged persons in a worldwide epidemic. Alzheimer’s Disease: A Physician’s Guide to Practical Management was written by selected clinicians and scientists who represent some of the world’s leading centers of excellence in AD research. The editors are proud and grateful for their profound contributions. This book is particularly designed to assist physicians and other health-care professionals in the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of individuals with AD. At the same time, by illuminating the basic scientific background, we hope to provide state-of-the art information about the disease and possible future therapeutic strategies. The recent psychiatric treatment aspects of AD are also clearly presented. Because the early diagnosis of the dementia process is now considered of increasing importance, we focus particularly in several chapters on early changes and preclinical conditions, such as mild cognitive impairment and predementia AD.

Neurointervention in the Medical Specialties is a first-of-its-kind reference that serves as a bridge between the neurointerventionalist and the physicians who most frequently look to these specialists for answers to some of the most intractable problems they face. Providing background on the wide range of diseases treated through neurointervention along with the indications and alternatives to such treatments, this landmark title is grouped into four parts: an introduction to the tools and anatomical structures that are integral to the field; disease processes most often encountered by neurologists, cardiologists, and vascular surgeons; those diseases more frequently treated by neurosurgeons; and finally those diseases first seen by several other specialties including ophthalmologists and head and neck surgeons. Importantly, each chapter includes details of neurointerventional technique and case discussions that are sufficiently detailed to provide a treatment template and guidance to neurointerventionalists in training and practice. At the same time, the descriptions provide referring physicians with insight into how neurointerventional procedures are performed. Finally, there are several concluding, thought-provoking chapters that examine what new opportunities await the field of neurointervention on the horizon. Neurointervention in the Medical Specialties is a major contribution to the literature and invaluable resource for all clinicians and researchers interested in this exciting field.

Clinical Neuroimmunology: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders serves as an indispensable resource for physicians interested in, and dealing with, this very complex and evolving branch of neurology.  This comprehensive title provides an introduction to basic neuroimmunology and principles of immunotherapy and also serves as a thorough guide to immune-mediated disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as other systemic disorders with a significant neuroimmunologic component.  The chapters are written by experts in their fields and include the most up to date scientific information. This volume is made to simplify complex immunological mechanisms and to focus on practical patient-related issues.  Clinical Neuroimmunology: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders is an invaluable addition to the literature and will be of significant interest to neurologists, residents and fellows, internists, and general practitioners who treat patients with neurologic disorders and other systemic autoimmune diseases.

It has been 5 years since publication of the first edition of Dr. Attarian’s Clinical Handbook of Insomnia which at the time was the first significant cl- ical textbook dedicated to insomnia, an often overlooked but important me- cal problem. The book was very well received. There has now been sufficient new information on the subject to warrant a second expanded edition of this very useful volume. Then, as now, the approach is to emphasize the frequent biological causes of insomnia rather than to attribute it primarily to underlying psychological and emotional factors. This new edition is an impressive major effort, having been expanded from 14 to 23 chapters including an extensive revision and updating of previous chapters with new references and the ad- tion of many new authors. An entirely new section of the book deals with insomnia in special populations including teenagers, pregnancy, menopause, and the geriatric population. Other new topics include insomnia as enco- tered in primary care practice, the role of circadian rhythms, the contribution of sleep related movement disorders to insomnia, insomnia in pain disorders, and the interesting entity of paradoxical insomnia, in which there is a large d- crepancy between the objective and subjective estimation of quantity of sleep. This collection within a single volume of practical information concerning a common but often neglected disorder remains a very useful addition to the armamentarium of the general or specialty physician who wishes to properly address insomnia in an informed and responsible manner.

Multiple Sclerosis: Etiology, Diagnosis, and New Treatment Strategies, provides insights to the current concepts about the evaluation, treatment and future direction of the disease. The text has an emphasis on the immunologic mechanisms that are involved in the autoimmune process and in developing treatment strategies based on these concepts. In addition to discussing current mediations for treating relapsing-remitting MS, this text focuses on recently approved medications, new indications for these medications, and those medications still in development. It also covers immunosuppressive therapy for progressive diseases as well as symptomatic therapy. Further therapies are discussed such as bone marrow transplant, combination therapies, and specific immunomodulatory treatments. The role of immunologic research is crucial in multiple sclerosis. The basic understanding of the autoimmune mechanism and its application to specific immunotherapies is explored. Immune markers, which are crucial for understanding and following the disease are also covered in detail.With the many new and current treatments studies on this disease, this book will prove to be an invaluable tool for general neurologists and primary care physicians who treat MS patients, as well as students.

Neurocritical care as a subspecialty has grown rapidly over the last 20 years with the advent of newer monitoring and diagnostic techniques and therapeutic modalities in a variety of brain and spinal cord injury paradigms. This handbook will serve as a quick reference guide to all health care providers in a neurocritical care setting. Since time is of the essence in the rapid diagnosis and timely therapeutic interventions for these patients, this book provides an algorithmic approach to making a clinical diagnosis using ancillary investigations to confirm the diagnosis and provide appropriate management of acute neurologic diseases. Tables and illustrations help provide a quick and easy bedside reference and give a practical approach to the management of these patients.

An authoritative and comprehensive review of the most important clinical issues facing critically ill neurologic and neurosurgical patients. The authors provide pertinent basic, clinical, diagnostic, and management guidelines for all the conditions commonly encountered in the neurocritical care unit, including the management of autonomic disorders that require critical care, postoperative management, and endovascular treatment. The authors also discuss the latest developments in the monitoring of different body systems, emphasizing the management of cardiorespiratory complications and other medical conditions that may threaten the patient's life. Also detailed are the concepts of intracranial physiology and current neuromonitoring techniques, subjects whose understanding is basic to effective management of critically ill neurologic patients. Numerous tables, figures, diagrams, and radiographs simplify and explicate both the diagnostic and therapeutic processes.

Despite major advances in the understanding of stroke mechanisms that have occurred over the past quarter century, stroke continues to rank among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Although currently it may be difficult to believe, early doubts were expressed as to whether inter­ ventions in risk factors for either coronary disease or stroke would actually lead to a reduction in the incidence of these disorders. However, large clini­ cal trials in hypertension, carotid disease, atrial fibrillation, and antithrombotic and antiplatelet therapies have effectively demonstrated the efficacy of these targeted interventions in reducing stroke incidence. More recently, after earlier uncertainty regarding the role of elevated lipids as a risk factor for stroke, clinical trials of the statins have also demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence of ischemic stroke. However, as em­ phasized in Handbook of Stroke Prevention in Clinical Practice, despite these gains and the initial decline in stroke incidence that did occur in the 1960s and 1970s, the incidence of stroke disappointingly has failed to show a fur­ ther significant decline since that time. The editors of Handbook of Stroke Prevention in Clinical Practice raise the very important question of whether recognized strategies for stroke preven­ tion have been widely or effectively implemented. They correctly empha­ size the critical importance of identifying the mechanism of stroke in each patient so as to properly direct prevention and treatment. As Dr.

A comprehensive survey on the use of bedside skills and perimetric devices to the test visual fields, and how to interpret the results. To develop the clinician's interpretative skills, the authors include a chapter on visual anatomy and an atlas of 100 real-life cases arranged in anatomic order from retina to striate cortex. By placing a brief clinical vignette with a visual field on one side of the page and a description of the field and its causal lesion on the opposite side, the reader will be able to learn interpretation in a simulated clinical setting. An additional quiz section of twenty randomly arranged visual fields provides readers with an opportunity to test their newly acquired skills.

A comprehensive review of what is known not only about the cause and treatment of atypical parksonian disorders, but also the issues that clinicians, researchers, patients, and caregivers face in dealing with them. The authors cover the basic science (history, epidemiology, genetics, pathology, nosology, computer modeling, and animal models), detailed clinical and laboratory assessments, and available diagnostic tools, including neuropsychiatric, neurologic, neuropsychologic, speech, electrophysiologic, and imaging evaluations. Current and future therapeutic approaches are also detailed, along with extensive discussions about future research directions.

A multidisciplinary survey of our current understanding of the biological and clinical aspects of vascular disease. The authors describe its basic mechanisms, its clinical characteristics, its pharmacological management, and the use of neuroimaging methods to investigate it. The complex relationship between VaD and AD is also fully explored with chapters on how these processes interact and how one disease may lower the threshold for clinical expression of the other.

A comprehensive, systematic, and advanced review of the scientific, preclinical, and clinical aspects of several major mental illnesses. The illnesses covered range from neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease, to psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, Tourette's syndrome and tic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For each disorder, the authors uniformly discuss its incidence and prevalence, etiology, molecular targets and mechanisms of action, brain structures and pathways, animal models, signs and symptoms, genetics, treatments, and related medical terminology.

The world's leading experts detail the basic rationale, scientific evidence, and treatment protocol for thrombolytic therapy in acute stroke patients. Thoroughly revised and updated, these experienced clinicians show how promptly delivered thrombolysis can restore cerebral blood flow in time to salvage brain and neurologic functions. New chapters cover topics such as the newer thrombolytics (TNK, desmoteplase, and reteplase, MRI imaging to guide thrombolytics, new content on intr-arterial and comibed IV/IA therapies, as well as new clinical cases covering the real-life use of throbolytics. Their description of the treatment protocol discusses field triage and management, emergency department therapy, brain imaging, clinical decision making and patient selection, drug administration, post-thrombolysis management, and the treatment of complications. Comprehensive and highly practical, Thrombolytic Therapy for Stroke, 2nd ed., offers the practicing physician everything necessary - background, protocols, and case studies - for the safe and effective treatment of the emergency stroke patient today.

A compendium of the latest published diagnostic criteria for a diverse group of neurological conditions. The criteria cover a wide spectrum of neurological conditions whose diagnosis does not depend solely on histopathology (e.g., brain tumors), including cerebrovascular diseases, dementias and behavioral disorders, demyelinating disorders, and disorders of consciousness and brain death. Standardized criteria are also provided for epilepsy, genetic syndromes, headache, immune-based disorders, infectious diseases, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and sleep disorders. A dazzling array of tables summarizes useful information on both common and uncommon neurological conditions, including many genetic and pediatric neurological disorders. Innovative and authoritative, Diagnostic Criteria in Neurology begins to do for neurology what the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) did for psychiatry.

A panel of international psychiatrists, neurologists, clinical psychologists, and neuropsychiatrists review for the clinical neurologist those aspects of psychiatry that impact the management of neurological disorders. On the one hand, the authors illuminate the neurological aspects of such psychiatric disorders as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, hysteria, catatonia, addictions, and personality disorders. On the other hand, they also explain in detail the psychiatric evaluation of the neurological patient and discuss the behavioral aspects of the major neurological disorders, including psychiatric complications of dementia and stroke, neuromuscular disorders, the psychiatric aspects of Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and multiple sclerosis. Comprehensive and timely, Psychiatry for Neurologists helps to close the artificial gap separating neurology and psychiatry so that neurologists feel comfortable managing the psychiatric aspects of the neurological disorders they treat.

In this new edition, Practicing Neurology: What You Need to Know, What You Need to Do, the latest volume from our Current Clinical Neurology™ series, Rahman Pourmand takes readers through the process of treating neurological conditions from evaluation to emergencies. For each condition, Pourmand provides basic facts, key definitions, step-by-step instructions for conducting a concise physical examination, neurologic signs to watch for, treatment strategies, and the prognosis.In Part I, the author outlines neurological history and examination, highlighting some common neurological constructs while elucidating the most up-to-date neurodiagnostic tests and procedures. Part II details common neurological conditions including stroke, seizure and epilepsy, central nervous system infections, complications from alcohol, dizziness and vertigo, headaches, sleep disorders, and back and neck pain. In Part III, neurological urgencies and emergencies, such as comas, status epilepticus, brain edema, transtentorial herniation, metastatic epidural spinal cord compression, acute meningitis, delirium tremens, Wernicke's encephalopathy, myastenia gravis crisis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and temporal arteritis are covered in detail.

As the leading cause of adult disability, stroke poses substantial economic and psychological burdens to populations around the world. Against this dismal backdrop, several novel "neurorestorative" approaches are being investigated as adjunctive treatments to physiotherapy. Stroke Recovery with Cellular Therapies discusses the promising investigations around the world on cell-based therapies to enhance recovery from stroke. Throughout this groundbreaking text, chapters detail the potential benefits of various types of cells and approaches for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, and all studies rely upon traditional histological and functional outcomes. Among the topics detailed in this volume are transplanting immortalized neural stem cells, transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells, adipose-derived stem cells, endogenous neural stem cells in tissue remodeling, and an investigation into the ethics of stem cell research. This text provides an overview of the field, stimulates ideas for further research, and will help serve as a foundation for cell-based therapies to move forward as a viable approach for stroke recovery in the future.

Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders is a state-of-the-art resource devoted to disorders characterized by excessive movement.  Organized according to specific disorders or syndromes, each chapter is written by a group of internationally recognized experts. Chapters have been organized by the individual authors to best highlight the salient features of the disorders.  Each chapter features a video accompaniment that provides highly instructive examples of each disorder, offering clinicians an important video-based tool to aid in making correct diagnoses.  The video is on an accompanying DVD and can also be found at www.springerimages.com/Suchowersky.  Without a visual evaluation of the phenomenology, diagnosis of the hyperkinetic disorder is fraught with error.  Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders is a unique and essential new text written for neurologists, psychiatrists, neurosurgeons, internists, residents and all others interested in movement disorders.  An invaluable resource, it will lead to a better understanding and recognition of the hyperkinetic movement disorders, and that, in turn, will lead to better care for patients.

Advances in the study and understanding of myasthenia gravis have led to the need for the publication of this important new edition. The goal of Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders, Second Edition is identical to the first -- to provide the clinician and the scientist with a common resource for understanding this complex disorder. This new edition begins with discussions of neuromuscular junction structure and function and follows with updated chapters covering a wide range of topics, such as the acetylcholine receptor, clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment. Importantly, new supplemental chapters have been added; these discuss rigorous clinical assessments of patients for research trials and the epidemiology and genetics of myasthenia gravis. The discussion of the most challenging aspects of myasthenia gravis, its impact on patients’ psychological make-up, has been expanded as well. Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders, Second Edition retains the “personal approach” of the authors regarding treatment and is a valuable resource for meeting the many and varied needs of patients with myasthenia gravis.

Chronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been a rapidly evolving area of neurotherapeutics since its initial introduction for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor in the 1990s. For these conditions, DBS is now considered accepted therapy for patients failing to adequately respond to m- ical treatment. Since the 1990s, new clinical indications, anatomic targets, and technologies have contributed to an expanding role for DBS in the treatment of other movement disorders such as dystonia and Tourette syndrome as well as for other neurologic disorders such as epilepsy and cluster headache. Early experience has also been reported for psychiatric syndromes, such as obs- sive–compulsive disorder and depression. Experience with DBS in psychiatric disorders is very limited but is reviewed in this volume as neuropsychiatric indications are expected to grow in coming years. Because of the rapidly increasing application of DBS for neurologic and psychiatric indications and the recruitment of increasing numbers of neu- logic, neurosurgical, and psychiatric clinicians to the field, it is appropriate to provide a resource that updates the underlying scientific background, describes methodologies and standards of treatment, and provides information on new technologies essential for clinical success and to advance the field. Deep Brain Stimulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders begins with reviews of the functional anatomy and physiology of motor and nonmotor aspects of the basal ganglia and their connections, which underlie the application of DBS to neurological and psychiatric disorders.

It has been 5 years since publication of the first edition of Dr. Attarian’s Clinical Handbook of Insomnia which at the time was the first significant cl- ical textbook dedicated to insomnia, an often overlooked but important me- cal problem. The book was very well received. There has now been sufficient new information on the subject to warrant a second expanded edition of this very useful volume. Then, as now, the approach is to emphasize the frequent biological causes of insomnia rather than to attribute it primarily to underlying psychological and emotional factors. This new edition is an impressive major effort, having been expanded from 14 to 23 chapters including an extensive revision and updating of previous chapters with new references and the ad- tion of many new authors. An entirely new section of the book deals with insomnia in special populations including teenagers, pregnancy, menopause, and the geriatric population. Other new topics include insomnia as enco- tered in primary care practice, the role of circadian rhythms, the contribution of sleep related movement disorders to insomnia, insomnia in pain disorders, and the interesting entity of paradoxical insomnia, in which there is a large d- crepancy between the objective and subjective estimation of quantity of sleep. This collection within a single volume of practical information concerning a common but often neglected disorder remains a very useful addition to the armamentarium of the general or specialty physician who wishes to properly address insomnia in an informed and responsible manner.

Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas is a practical and concise title offering an introduction to the field of movement disorders, which is expanding rapidly with the involvement of various disciplines and specialties. The unique feature of the book is the accompanying video content, comprising common cases in each category of movement disorders. The video clips come from Dr. Tarsy’s personal video collection at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Dr. Bhidayasiri's personal collection at Chulalongkorn University and UCLA. The videos can be found at www.springerimages.com/Tarsy. Each case includes expert narration from Dr. Tarsy. Rather than focusing on rare cases, the authors emphasize typical cases, with good history and physical signs. Unique, easy to read, with highly instructive supporting video content, Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas is an indispensable reference for all clinicians interested in the fascinatingfield of movement disorders