Posts Tagged ‘Parkinson’s Disease’

Handbook of Parkinson’s Disease

Handbook of Parkinson’s Disease

Edited by William C. Koller

New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1987. 505 pp.

Although the tremor of Parkinson’s disease has been described intermittently throughout recorded history, the increasing life expectancy of human beings has made it a commonly treated illness today. Due to its slow progression and many coexistent symptoms, it is quite likely that most medical practitioners will encounter patients with this disease. Recognizing the need to understand and treat this debilitating illness, James Parkinson ended his 1817 description of shaking palsy with this admonishment to basic and clinical scientists:

Before concluding these pages, it may be proper to observe once more, that an important object proposed to be obtained by them is, the leading of the attention of those who humanely employ anatomical examination in detecting the cause and nature of diseases, particularly to this malady. By their benevolent labors its real nature may be ascertained, and appropriate modes of relief, or even of cure, pointed out.

Dr. Koller and his associates have answered his call by producing a handbook that provides up-to-date information on the pharmacology, physiology, pathology, and psychology of Parkinson’s disease. In this comprehensive text, topics range from genetics to stereotactic surgery and include such varied subjects as pharmacologic therapy, rehabilitation, epidemiology, and history. There are also chapters that deal with patient concerns, such as sleep disorders and psychosocial interaction. The appendix includes common staging scales, drug availability and cost, organizations that help patients to cope with their disease, and books that the patients can consult to understand it. The danger in attempting to produce a book of such magnitude is the creation of a tedious morass that a reader must wade through to find the useful facts, but the contributors to this book fall into this pitfall only occasionally.

On the whole, I found this handbook to be well written, well referenced, and interesting. Dr. Koller’s text offers the clinician current useful information about the disease and gives the researcher a comprehensive review of the progress other disciplines have made to understand and treat Parkinson’s disease.

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.