DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IN CHILDHOOD.

Abstract

By Jean Aicardi. 1998. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Price £150. ISBN 1-898-68316-6. The practice of the neurology of childhood is a particularly fascinating and demanding occupation. Maturational and developmental changes in the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of all parts of the nervous system influence the possible historical details and physical findings. The recognition of the early manifestations of disorders more readily diagnosed when fully developed is especially challenging. It is essential to have a comprehensive text with which to tackle the problems of children whose neurological signs are static, but very debilitating; those with deteriorating conditions; and those, such as the ones with epilepsy, for whom treatment can lead to improvement, if not always cure. Jean Aicardi's encyclopaedic knowledge of the disorders which might cause neurological problems in children was recognized long before he produced the first edition of his definitive text. This second edition has been thoroughly updated. Although written almost exclusively by Aicardi, there are chapters on metabolic diseases and cerebral palsy to which Ogier and Bax have contributed. The section on developmental and neuropsychiatric disorders is by Christopher Gillberg. The layout and chapter …