Current Therapy in Neurologic Disease, 5th Edition

edited by Richard T. Johnson and John W. Griffin, 429 pp., ill., St. Louis, Mosby, 1997

Any text that reaches a 5th edition has the right formula. Readers of previous editions must appreciate the value and want to be updated. This is particularly important in the fastest growing arena of clinical neurosciences—therapeutics. Since the 4th edition in 1993, we witnessed the introduction of the triptans for migraine; thrombolytic therapy for stroke; beta interferon and copolymer for MS; the resurgence of surgical treatment of PD; and the modestly effective, but encouraging, drugs for AD and ALS.

The two editors and 127 authors combined, once again, to produce a readable, authoritative, scholarly treatise on neurotherapeutics. They describe each entity by clinical features and diagnostic requirements before discussing therapy. Of particular value are the addresses and telephone numbers of the relevant voluntary health organizations listed at the end of many chapters; these organizations are often extremely effective in providing information and comfort to patients and caregivers.

Some of the new treatments are not covered optimally, such as thrombolytic therapy and the surgical treatment of PD. In my review of the 4th edition (Neurology 1994;44:198), I mentioned two instances where the treatment recommendations were not concordant with current practice and, fortunately, this was corrected in the 5th edition. In the next edition, the …