Principles of Drug Therapy in Neurology

Principles of Drug Therapy, Second Edition provides comprehensive coverageof current drug therapy in neurology while providing the background informationthat neurologists and other clinicians need to understand its rationale. Therange of new drugs available for treatment of neurological disorders isexpanding rapidly along with rapid advances in the neurosciences that areuncovering disease mechanisms. Although there are many sources of druginformation, most are limited to basic information about indications, dose andside effects. However the complexity of the nervous system is enormous and theinformation needed to understand drug effects is accordingly often not readilyavailable in a single source. The book addresses that issue by presenting 18focused, disease-related chapters by authors who are expert clinicalsub-specialists as well as experts on drug therapy. The first chapter on fundamentals of drug therapy in neurology provides areadable synopsis of how the classic pharmacology concepts such aspharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics are related to therapy in neurology. Thissection also discusses the pathogenesis of potentially serious side effects suchas skin rashes and liver disorders, and the role of pharmacogenetics in bothdrug effect and side effects. Outstanding chapters on movement disorders,epilepsy, and headaches cover major areas of drug treatment in neurologypractice. Additional chapters cover stroke, increased intracranial pressure inthe intensive care unit, dementia, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury andspasticity, neuromuscular disorders and pain. Sleep, central nervous systeminfections and HIV, and drug intoxications are also covered. Areas of specialinterest to child neurologists covered in the book include treatment of geneticmetabolic disorders and use of stimulants and other medications for childhoodcognitive disorders. An excellent chapter is also provided on drug treatment ofpsychiatric disorders because of the important of psychiatric drugs in neurologypractice. This edition has been completely re-written from the successfuledition published in the 90s and enlarged commensurate with the excitingprogress in treatment in neurology.

Michael V. Johnston, M.D., is Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also the Chief Medical Officer at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Robert A. Gross MD, PhD, is Professor of Neurology and of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center as well as the Director of Strong Epilepsy Center.