Therapy of Parkinson’s Disease

Therapy of Parkinson’s Disease

Edited by William C. Koller and George Paulson

New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1990. 583 pp.

Therapy of Parkinson’s Disease represents volume five in a series written on neurologic disease and therapy. It focuses on the therapeutic approaches to Parkinson’s disease (the second in this series dealing with that disorder). In addition to treatment issues, other areas are covered, including clinical evaluation, imaging, pathophysiology, neurochemical systems, and behavioral aspects. A clear strength of this text is that it covers a range of very specific treatment approaches in depth, which in sum provide a broad review of the clinical and research aspects of Parkinson’s disease therapeutics.

The volume is divided into five parts, composed of chapters on specific topics. Part 1 is cfevoted to the assessment and measurement of symptoms and signs and provides a review of clinical assessment via rating scales, videotape analysis, measures of motor disability, neurochemical evaluations, and various neuroimaging techniques. Part 2, an extensive review of pharmacological interventions, addresses traditional agents, novel agents, various routes of administration, preventive therapy, and treatment of secondary disorders. Part 3 discusses surgical interventions such as stereotaxic thalamotomies and neurotransplantation. Part 4 is concerned with the dietary issues related to Parkinson’s disease treatment, and part 5 addresses the behavioral and psychiatric issues, along with physical therapy issues, in Parkinson’s disease.

As indicated, each chapter provides a condensed, in-depth account of a highly specific topic and cites numerous references. The reference list is both comprehensive and timely (through 1990) and provides a good base from which to search for further literature on a specific topic. Most chapters are succinct and well organized. Tables, graphs, photographs, diagrams, and photomicrographs are used extensively throughout the volume. The contributors to the text (numbering 69) represent the mainstream of basic and clinical research and practice in the area of Parkinson’s disease, from academic centers in the U.S. and abroad. Errors are present in the arrangement of some material (for example, a section on dopamine receptor blocking drugs describes both agonists and antagonists). The chapter on neuroimaging could be difficult to get through without knowledge of various imaging techniques. The chapter on the management of behavioral symptoms reviews depression, drug-induced psychosis, and cognitive impairment, but does not discuss other (less common) neuropsychiatric issues, such as non-iatrogenic psychosis, the therapy of which is a timely issue in the psychiatric literature.

Therapy of Parkinson’s Disease is an expensive book, and not appropriate for everyone. Those who are involved in the clinical or research aspects of Parkinson’s disease and the related neuroscience, or who have an interest in that area, will find this text a valuable resource.