Book reviews

Neurology
Volume 195 - Issue 4

Pocket guide to Parkinson disease

Authors:  Rebekah M Ahmed and Simon Lewis

Med J Aust 2011; 195 (4): 228. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb03289.x
Published online: 15 August 2011
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Fast facts: Parkinson’s disease. 3rd ed.
K Ray Chaudhuri, Christopher G Clough, Kapil D Sethi. Oxford: Health Press, 2011 (144 pp, $25.00). ISBN 9781905832880.

Since the first description of Parkinson disease in 1817 as the “shaking palsy”, it has become increasingly known that this common condition is not simply a motor disorder but a complex neurodegenerative process that requires a holistic approach to management. This book aims to provide an easy guide for doctors who are not necessarily specialists in neurology for managing the motor and non-motor symptoms of the disease.

All three authors are leaders in the field — Chaudhuri is professor of neurology and movement disorders at King’s College Hospital, London; Clough is medical director of King’s College Hospital; and Sethi is Director of the Movement Disorders Program at Georgia Health Sciences University in the United States.

The book presents information on the diagnosis, pathogenesis, genetics and treatment of the condition in a concise and readable form, as well as on the psychosocial aspects of the disease and palliative care.

This third edition has a chapter on new developments and gene therapy. It includes an excellent table on drugs currently undergoing trials to treat the non-motor symptoms of the disease. Recent advances in neuroprotection are reviewed, such as the findings of the ADAGIO study (N Engl J Med; 361: 1268-1278) that suggest that early treatment with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor rasagiline confers benefits not seen with delayed treatment with the same agent.

The book lists some useful resources for those managing the disease, and contact details of Parkinson disease associations in several countries including Australia.

The only shortcoming is that it would benefit from more detail about the management of the gastrointestinal and autonomic symptoms of Parkinson disease.

This book is certainly good value. In a world of limited time, it can be read quickly and carried in your pocket to read when you have a spare moment.

Authors

  • Rebekah M Ahmed1
  • Simon Lewis1
  • 1. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW
View this article on Wiley Online Library

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