Neuromuscular Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence: A Clinician's Approach - Hardcover

Darras, Basil T.; De Vivo MD, Darryl C.; Jones Jr., H. Royden

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750671904 ISBN 13: 9780750671903

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002

Synopsis

Written by a panel of world authorities, this comprehensive text is the only book of its kind, covering the full range of neuromuscular diseases seen in children. It explains how childhood neuromuscular diseases differ from those in adult patients, and it provides clinicians with all the knowledge they need to successfully diagnose and treat their pediatric patients.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr. H. Royden Jones was Chair of the Department of Neurology at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts; Director of the Electromyography Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital; and Clinical Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jones completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Neurology and a fellowship in neurological physiology at the Mayo Clinic. He served over 3 years in the United States Army as Chief of Neurology at 5th General Hospital, Bad Cannstatt, Germany. Dr. Jones was Board certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and neuromuscular medicine. Upon completion of his training he joined the Lahey Clinic in 1972. In 1977 he also joined the neurology department at Boston Children’s Hospital, founding the electromyography laboratory in 1979. Pediatric EMG became his major clinical research interest. Dr. Jones was co-editor of three major textbooks on childhood clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular disorders. He was a co-founder of the biennial International Paediatric EMG Conference based at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London, England. Recognized as one of the top neurologists in the U.S., Dr. Jones was an author and editor of several Netter publications including two editions of Netter’s Neurology, The Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations: Nervous System, Volume 7, Part I (Brain) and Part II (Spinal Cord and Peripheral Motor and Sensory Systems), 2nd Editions (volumes in the Netter Green Book Collection). Dr. Jones authored and edited several other Netter publications and contributed over 200 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Dr. Jones served 8 years as a director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, becoming Chair of its Neurology Council in 2004. In 2007 he received the Distinguished Physician Award from the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Lahey Clinic’s Medical Staff Association recognized Dr. Jones in 2010 with its highest honor-the Frank Lahey Award for “commitment to the values of Dr. Frank Lahey: respect, teamwork, excellence, commitment to personal best. Dr. Jones was named Outstanding Teacher in Pediatric Neurology 2012 - 2013 by the Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He also received an award in recognition of his many years of dedicated teaching at Tufts University School of Medicine.

From The New England Journal of Medicine:

A large group of disorders affect the muscles, nerves, neuromuscular junctions, and motor neurons. These neuromuscular diseases are common in both children and adults, but because of their complex presentation their diagnosis and treatment can require not only clinical proficiency but also expertise in clinical phenomenology, electrophysiology, histopathology, molecular genetics, and protein chemistry. In children, in whom the use of extensive laboratory tests poses practical difficulties and ethical dilemmas, emphasis on a clinical approach remains fundamental, even in the present era of molecular science. For these reasons, this book on childhood neuromuscular diseases, which is aimed at clinicians and was edited by astute clinicians and scientists, is welcome. By combining their own clinical experience with that of an outstanding cast of authors, the editors have succeeded admirably in covering the clinical science of neuromuscular diseases in children while fulfilling the needs of scholars in the field. Reviewing a book as good as this one is like critiquing a good wine; you need not only to evaluate its present strength but also to predict its longevity. Because a good book's longevity depends on improvements in future editions, it is refreshing to read in the introduction to this book that the editors humbly invite criticisms for the future. This is another sign of their sincere effort to produce a perfect book. Most of the book's 65 chapters are very good or outstanding. Repetitions are numerous, but I found them didactic rather than distracting. The introductory chapter, a collective effort based on the editors' approach to clinical problems, offers superb reading and practical pearls emanating from the authors' clinical experience. The chapters on histology, electromyography, genetics, motor-neuron disorders, neuropathies, myasthenias, dystrophies, metabolic myopathies, channelopathies, and therapeutic principles, written by senior authors, are superb. They are succinct and contain numerous clinical pearls of wisdom. A few notable exceptions are the chapters on inflammatory myopathies, infectious myositis, and disorders of the ocular nerves and muscles, which are wordy and, though informative, not as authoritative as the others. Therapies are generally well covered, but the depth of the practical therapeutic guidelines useful to busy clinicians varies from excellent, as in the instances of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and myasthenia, to weak, as in the instance of inflammatory myopathies, the most treatable group of myopathies. It is unclear why the editors provide two chapters -- although they are superb -- on the Guillain-Barre syndrome (labeled the Guillain-Barre syndrome in one and acute motor axonal neuropathy in the other), two on poliomyelitis (acute poliomyelitis and vaccine-associated poliomyelitis), and three on mononeuropathies (one for the face, one for the upper extremities, and one for the lower extremities). If these chapters and some of the others were condensed, the second edition would be lighter (in weight, not in content) and more user-friendly for busy clinicians. A chapter on diagnostic testing (autoantibodies, muscle enzymes, ischemic exercise testing, and muscle imaging) would also be helpful. The illustrations are excellent, but I found the duplication of figures, in black and white and in color, redundant and distracting, especially given that some of the color plates and the corresponding text appear on different pages. The tables are abundant, but some are so busy that they become unhelpful. The clinical vignettes are informative, didactic, and highly enjoyable. The authors deserve congratulations for including even the latest mutations (except for those involving desmin and, partially, perlecan), in spite of the rapid pace of molecular genetics. This is an excellent book. My minor criticisms are meant only to improve future editions. Pediatric or adult neurologists, pediatricians in academic settings, and experts in neuromuscular diseases or in training for this specialty will find this book indispensable. Most important, this book comes with the assurance that what is presented is reliable, objective, and up to date. Marinos C. Dalakas, M.D.
Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

About this edition

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0750671904
• ISBN 13: 9780750671903
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1344