7/28/2019 Neurology of Arts

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/neurology-of-arts 1/1

BOOK REVIEWS

Critical care neurology andneurosurgery 

Edited by Jose I Suarez. Totowa: Published by Humana Press, 2004, $145.00 (hardback),pp 611. ISBN 1-58829-089-1

This is a worthy attempt to produce acomprehensive multi-author text of neuro-logical and neurosurgical ITU. The volume isextensive with more than 60 authors con-tributing 34 chapters in over 600 pages. Thescope is wide ranging and covers a broadsweep of topics relating to critical illness dueto primary neurological and neurosurgicalconditions. It has little or nothing to sayabout the neurological complications of gen-eral medical intensive care.

There are many excellent individual chap-ters—I learnt a great deal from the neuro-surgical contributions concerning raisedintracranial pressure and monitoring, andalso from the neurological section on vasculardisease. However, there are surprising omis-sions; for example, as general neurologists we

are probably asked to consult about ischaemic-hypoxic brain injury more than any othersingle condition and yet this book has littleconcerning this important topic. There is arelatively little about the practical aspects of management although there are honourableexceptions and I particularly enjoyed thesection on ventilation and tracheostomy. A more up to date description of centralrespiratory abnormalities due to neurologicaldisorders would have been preferable. Doesanybody really see the patterns of centralherniation described by Plum? In the modern world ventilation is introduced much earlierand these descriptions are generally of historic interest only. For such a comprehen-sive text I would have preferred a little moreabout the history and philosophy of neuro-

logical intensive care—particularly a recogni-tion of the different sorts of units related tostroke and long term ventilatory management.

This book attempts to present an overviewof the subject, including chapters on mostaspects of neurological critical care, butunfortunately the structure is rather looseand the content is organised without anobvious overall strategy. This is a disappoint-ment and rather dilutes the value of this bookas a textbook. It is relatively expensive andI was disappointed by the poor quality of the illustrations. It is surely essential in themodern world of neuro-imaging within theITU to be presented with high qualityreproduction of functional imaging in addi-tion to more conventional modalities.

Similarly, the lack of structure demands amore coherent presentation of individualchapters making better use of tables andfigures.

There are several excellent new texts of critical care neurology and neurosurgeryagainst which this book must be measured.The lack of structure and organisation meansthat it falls short of the more coherent books written by single authors or small groups. Thebook will be an asset to specialist neuro-critical care units but is unlikely to be of valueto general neurologists or trainees.

R Howard

Neurology of the arts: painting,music, literature

Edited by F Clifford Rose. Published by ImperialCollege Press, 2004, £65.00 (hardback),pp 432. ISBN 1-86094-368-3

 Neurology of the arts: painting, music, lit erature isa multi-authored book that explores theintersection between neurology and the arts.The topics in the book are wide ranging,

moving from discussions of Dostoyevsky andepilepsy, to amusia, back to Samuel Johnsonand Mozart’s movement disorders. Neurologyis the underlying glue that binds the book.The chapters are really quite diverse andtouch on the use of literature or painting toportray neurological disorders, includedescriptions of the neurological conditionsof famous artists, writers or musicians, ordelineate the neurological basis for music andpainting. Many of the authors have a back-ground in neurology or neuroscience, butthere are fascinating contributions fromProfessors of music, literature, and art.

The editor offers an erudite chapter on therepresentation of neurology in art, beginning with an ancient tablet from Egypt illustratinga person with an atrophic leg, suggestive of 

polio. Also, he explores migraine as a possiblesource for artistic creativity in Hildegarde deBingen and outlines the influence of neuro-anatomy upon artists like Leondardo daVinci, Theodore Gericault, and Rembrandt van Rijn. Finally, he summarises the panoplyof diseases from which Van Gogh may havesuffered. A full chapter is dedicated to the various artists who have suffered fromepilepsy. In other chapters the art of SirCharles Bell and the poetry of Henry Head aredescribed.

There are two exceptionally strong chapterson the cerebral localisation of music. In onethe neuroanatomy of music perception andmusical memory is described while anothersummarises research into the neural basis formusic in musicians and non-musicians. In

this vein, another chapter describes amusia—a rare but intensely studied cognitive dis-order. The effect of Mozart on epilepsy(protective), and the relationship of musicand madness provide interesting contrasts onmusic’s effects on behaviour.

For readers with background in neurology with a special interest in literature there ismuch to enjoy. Christopher Goetz—a leadingmedical historian—notes the influence of Shakespeare on Charcot’s teaching. Theastute observations by Shakespeare on var-ious neurological conditions once used byCharcot as a teaching tool offer remarkableinsights into both Shakespeare and Charcot.Joyce’s use of medical metaphors in Ulyssesand other work elucidates a unique perspect-ive on this author’s work. Two chapters

address Dostoyevsky; one depicts his useof epilepsy in writing, the other discussesthe potential aetiology for his epilepsy. A fascinating and highly scholarly chapter byRagnar Stien outlines the description of depression, polyneuropathy, as well asancient Nordic remedies in old Nordic sagas.

This book should have wide appeal in theneurological and neuroscience community.Not every chapter will appeal to every reader,but there is much to enjoy in this book. Itreminds me of some of the later books of Macdonald Critchley as it touches upon a wide range of topics of interest to neurolo-gists. Neurology attracts a disproportionate

number of individuals with a strong interestin both science and the arts. This bookunderstands the desire of our communityfor this information.

B L Miller 

Fifty neurologic cases from mayoclinic

Edited by John H Noseworthy. Oxford:

Published by Oxford University Press, 2004,£24.95 (paperback), pp 218. ISBN 0-19-517745-2

 A book of 218 pages, which starts withsemantic dementia and ends with mildcognitive impairment of amnestic type viaTangier disease, necessarily lays the emphasison the esoteric rather than the mundane.Whether the subject matter will be of interestto ‘‘surgeons…..and of particular help tomedical students’’ is a matter for others to judge. However, it seems to this reviewer,that the average surgeon will not have anyparticular desire to be enlightened aboutWhipple’s disease, Angelman’s syndrome, orErdheim-Chester disease. The agendas of publishers and clinicians do not alwayscoincide and it would be churlish to shootthe messenger when Professor Noseworthy’s work contains much else to savour—espe-cially the preface and acknowledgements!

Neurologists tend to be competitive indivi-duals and this book certainly lays down thegauntlet. The format is tried and tested, withthe history, examination findings, and resultsof investigations inviting the reader to predictthe denouement, which is presented overleaf,together with a commentary by an expertin the field. The quality of the illustrationsis first class. The range of cases presentedis mind boggling and the commentariesextremely well researched and up to date.

I have only a few minor criticisms. Manyof the commentaries contain little mentionof the differential diagnosis. It seems churlish

to present a case of facioscapulohumeralmuscular dystrophy (FSH) without facialinvolvement or mention of Beevor’s signand expect the average reader to hit the nailon the head. I am unconvinced by theargument that asking our patients to wiggletheir ears is ever likely to lead to a fruitfuloutcome. It might have been helpful toinclude the normal ranges alongside theresults of tests.

 At £24.95 this seems good value for moneyand in my opinion will enhance any depart-mental or personal library.

 A J Wills

STROKE—pathophysiology,

diagnosis, and management, 4thedition

Edited by J P Mohr, Dennis W Choi, James CGrotta, Bryce Weir, Philip A Wolf. Published by Churchill Livingstone, 2004, £170.00 (hard-back), pp 1546. ISBN 0-443-06600-0

This is a major update—by a new editorialteam—of a major reference book in cerebro- vascular diseases. Updating such a big refer-ence work is a huge task, and by andlarge the editors have succeeded in theirtask. They have assembled many very dis-tinguished authors and put together a pretty

148 PostScript  

 www.jnnp.com