Understanding Parkinson's Disease: A Personal and Professional View - Tapa dura

"Writing for those afflicted with Parkinson's disease and their families, Rosenbaum hopes to aid his readers' decision-making by providing a level of understanding of the disease, its course, causes, and treatments equivalent to a student who has taken a one-semester course on the illness....[h]e has attempted to keep jargon and complex details to a relative minimum." - SciTech Book News "Rosenbaum melds his professional experiences as a clinical neurologist and professor of neurology with personal experiences to provide an insightful overview of Parkinson's disease. He is remarkably successful in his ambitious attempt to cover the history, etiology, pathology, clinical manifestations, treatment options, and nonpharmacologic management of this neurological disorder for a wide readership. The author provides concise, easily digestible introductions to basic medically related scientific concepts such as incidence/prevalence of disease, genetic inheritance, and test sensitivity/specificity as necessary for comprehension of the substantive discussions in each chapter. Engaging descriptions of medical discoveries, drug development, medical practice issues, and patient-physician communication are wide-ranging and logically organized....[t]he method of synthesizing information pertaining to Parkinson's disease is applicable to any disease entity, as are the many pearls regarding patient care. This book will be useful for those afflicted with Parkinson's disease and for families, caregivers, students seeking a career in any of the health professions, and others interested in an understandable illustration of how to thoughtfully explore a disease and its treatment. Recommended. All levels." - Choice

A neurologist whose father suffers from Parkinson's provides a layreader-friendly explanation of the disease, its history, development, treatment and modern advances that may ultimately lead to a cure. Rosenbaum's professional view is as a clinical neurologist who regularly cares for patients with the progressive neurological deterioration caused by Parkinson's Disease. His personal experience with his father, a retired surgeon, further powers his quest to give patients, family members and caregivers what they need to know. Topics covered include challenges of correct diagnosis, variations in prognosis, investigations of causes including exciting progress in possible toxins and genetic factors that play a role, and different treatment options including natural remedies as well as new drugs for symptom treatment. Rosenbaum also explains research efforts to find a preventative drug, modern surgical options and hopes for stem cell or gene therapy. In this work, Rosenbaum blends historical and medical research with illustrations from the patients in his professional life, and from his dad on the homefront, to give us a clear and comprehensive understanding of Parkinson's. He also includes writing from and attention to well-known individuals affected by this disorder-among them actor Michael J. Fox.