Valuable resource on MS

Multiple sclerosis.

Sharon Warren and Kenneth Warren. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001 (ix + 123 pp). ISBN 92 4 156203 X.

The book reviews, summarises and provides an objective and considered opinion on epidemiological research into multiple sclerosis. It covers issues relating to diagnosis as well as research methodology, case-ascertainment methods, prevalence and incidence rates, environmental risk factors, genetic susceptibility, other risk factors and prognostic factors.

The authors are eminent Canadian multiple sclerosis researchers. They provide an overview of the subject and bring together research from around the world in order to answer some of the difficult questions that our patients often ask. They do this by discussing, in depth and detail, the methodological aspects and the results of these studies in simple language. A separate section deals with prognostic indicators and the last chapter addresses challenges for future research.

Multiple sclerosis should appeal to a wide range of readers, but especially to those starting out in the field, such as clinicians or researchers. It is scientific in its prose, but relatively easy to read for a person with multiple sclerosis who wants to know what the current state of knowledge is without spending a lot of money.

It is not a book for those readers looking for information on the scientific aspects of the genetic basis of the disease or its management. It does, however, include a very good section on the epidemiological research into genetic susceptibility.

I think the authors should be congratulated on producing a small, easy-to-read, comprehensive and objective book. It lends itself to a wide range of readers and should be updated regularly. For those of us who try but can’t always manage to read all that we want to on multiple sclerosis, the book is a valuable and easily accessible reference source.

Garry D PearceMedical Director Multiple Sclerosis Society, NSW