Introduction to Clinical Neurology, 2nd editionDouglas J. Gelb, May 2000, 416 pages, Butterworth Heinemann: London. ISBN 0750672021, £22.50

Abstract

This updated second edition is an ideal introduction to clinical neurology. It is primarily aimed at medical students and general physicians, and also contains a few useful tips for the junior neurologist in training. The emphasis remains to provide a ‘systematic approach to the neurologic problems likely to be encountered in general medical practice’ and to focus on the practical issues of patient management. The text is divided into sections dealing with ‘Common Diseases ’: stroke, dementia, movement disorders, etc. and ‘Common Symptoms’: headache, dizziness and disequilibrium, etc. providing both a disease-centred and symptom-centred approach. This edition also includes a new section on the basic techniques of neurological examination and updates on new medical and surgical treatments e.g. rtPA, Clopidogrel, endarterectomy, COMT inhibitors and the surgical management of Parkinson's disease. This book has a refreshing style. Each chapter begins with a set of clinical cases and associated questions. These focus the reader's mind on the various modes of disease presentation. The author then clarifies important differentiating points in the history and on examination before proceeding to the differential diagnosis. This case-orientated style brings the text to life and makes it more relevant to the practising physician. It also makes it more memorable! The text is deliberately not comprehensive but covers all the common neurological diseases likely to be encountered in general medical practice and also gives a framework for understanding the more difficult or rare conditions. Many medical students and physicians struggle to achieve any confidence in neurology, daunted by the apparent mystery shrouding the subject. This book dispels these myths and presents a simple path to accurate neurological diagnosis. The style is light, clear and concise (which is unusual for a neurology text) and most of all it makes neurology fun to read.