Richard Satran

The Babinski Sign: A Centenary

Dr van Gijn commemorates the centenary of the description of the Babinski sign with a short, interesting, and comprehensive work. It is a fine blend reflective of the authors interest in history, clinical neurophysiology, and neurology. The book consists of 6 chapters. The first considers perspectives of body mechanics and neurophysiology before the Babinski observation. This is followed by an excellent account of his life and career. His professional association with Charcot and the academic politics that precluded him from succeeding to the chair of his mentor at the Salpetriere are well presented. The third chapter offers a detailed discussion of his 1898 paper that contains his observations of the extensor response of the great toe and the different neurological conditions in which this phenomenon was encountered. The subsequent chapter sets forth the numerous maneuvers applied to the sole of the foot by other neurologists to induce the phenomenon he

Headache Disorders: A Management Guide for Practitioners

Headache remains the most common neurological disease. The numerous medications and regimens for the treatment of headache reflect the diversity of this clinical problem and its often associated chronicity. The authors, founders of a headache unit in New England, offer their philosophical approach to diagnosis, care, and management. The book is concise and well focused. It consists of 10 chapters dealing with headache classification, recognition of significant headache symptoms, and differential diagnosis. Also considered are current theories of pathophysiology and treatment. In the chapter on history taking, the authors display the information forms used to elicit essential clinical data that are often overlooked and often significant for diagnosis and treatment. Excellent tables supplement the text. Therapy is stressed and the authors, in a straightforward and tacit style, consider drugs, reasons for their use, and their therapeutic strategies. Occasional repetition occurs, particularly in the treatment of the difficult problem of rebound

Neck and Arm Pain

This work addresses the evaluation and treatment of commonly encountered symptoms in the general practice of medicine. The early chapters are concerned with anatomy, cervical nerves, and posture. The analysis of symptoms based on pain mechanisms is well prepared and focused on the diverse structures within the cervical spine and spinal cord that may be the source of pain. The section dedicated to whiplash syndrome is well done, and the authors approach to different types of treatment is nicely presented. All of the chapters contain numerous, well-drawn illustrations by Dr Cailliet. Unfortunately, at times they are presented on pages that do not correspond to the actual text. The chapters concerned with spondylitic myelopathy and thoracic outlet syndrome pay little attention to possible surgical intervention. The bibliography at the end of each chapter is substantial and current. This short, focused work contains much useful information that should be most helpful to

Transient Ischemic Attacks, vol 3 in Science and Practice of Surgery

This book is dedicated to the consideration of the transient ischemic attack. There is general agreement that the transient ischemic attack is the harbinger of enduring stroke or brain infarction in some 20% to 40% of patients who suffer these events. That is a cause for concern among patients who experience the muchpublicized symptoms. Despite the vast medical literature regarding ischemic attacks, there remains considerable disagreement as to how to proceed with their management and treatment. Warlow, a neurologist, and Morris, a surgeon, both from Oxford (England) University, write from their own experience and include the works of other well known workers in this field. Allowing for the multiple authorship, this book is generally well balanced and there is little repetition. The initial chapters consider the epidemiology and pathogenesis of ischemic attacks. They are followed by a discussion of atherosclerosis of the arteries to the eye and brain and the

EEG in Clinical Practice

Dr Hughes has written a book for house officers, practicing physicians, neurologists, and experienced EEG technicians. Although their backgrounds may be diverse, it is likely that all have some gaps in their knowledge of clinical EEG; it is to lessen their deficiencies that this book has been produced. The text contains successive sections on techniques, rhythms, methods of localization, artifacts, and normal and abnormal rhythms and concludes with topics of special interest. The material is presented in a balanced, clear style. The elements of recording technique that may be understressed in the training of house officers are well presented, as is an analysis of common EEG artifacts. Much more EEG recording is done in the nursery now, and the characteristics of the EEG in premature and newborn infants are well organized and succinctly described. In the section concerned with topics of special interest, the author attends to the mundane but