Introduction to Clinical Neurology

All clinicians, regardless of their specialty, encounter patients with weakness, altered sensation, headaches, "spells", dizziness, sleepiness, mental status changes, and other symptoms that reflect dysfunction of one or more parts of the nervous system. Clinicians need to know how to evaluate such patients, how to determine if the patients are likely to have a neurologic condition, and how to manage them, at least in the initial stages. This book, written by the lead author of the widely cited Neurology Clerkship Core Curriculum, covers the material that clinicians need to know in order to assess and manage the patients they will encounter in general medical practice. The focus throughout is on the "how" and "why" of clinical neurology. Naturally, the book includes extensive factual material about individual disease processes, but the emphasis is on information that is important for understanding why patients with neurologic conditions are managed the way they are. The first three chapters of the book present a systematic way to think about patients with neurologic symptoms, applying a logical approach to diagnosis rather than relying on pattern recognition. Because the neurologic examination is fundamental to diagnosis, this book provides a detailed description of how to perform each step of the examination and an even more extensive discussion of how to interpret the findings. The remaining chapters cover the management of specific disease categories and symptoms, always stressing the reasons for doing particular tests and the rationale for the various treatment options. Although the book does not cite the original literature, it reflects the most current evidence available at the time of publication.

About the Author :
Born in Minnesota, Douglas Gelb moved to Cambridge, MA for college (Harvard), Chicago, IL for medical and graduate school (University of Chicago), and San Francisco for internship and neurology residency (University of California, San Francisco). He did graduate research in human visual perception, but his clinical experiences in medical school and residency convinced him that his principal interests were patient care and teaching. In 1988, immediately after completing his residency, he moved to the University of Michigan and became the first faculty member in the Department of Neurology to be hired in the clinical academic track. At the University of Michigan, he directs the required third-year neurology clerkship and the second-year course on diseases of the nervous system. Nationally, he has been the Chair of the Consortium of Neurology Clerkship Directors and the Chair of the American Academy of Neurology A.B. Baker Section on Neurologic Education, and has served on numerous other educational committees. He was the lead author of the Neurology Clerkship Core Curriculum.

Review :
With its practical approach, this book is a high quality tool and a great resource for the target audience that easily competes with and surpasses other books. Paying attention to rapid developments in the field of neurology, Dr. Gelb enriches this latest edition with definitions, guidelines, and therapies stemming from controlled trials and systematic reviews which were not available at the time of the previous edition." -- Mayo Clinic Hospital "[T]his compact 504 page paperback is a gem for those looking to grasp the key concepts of clinical neurology. Those more used to heavy-weight tomes should not be fooled into thinking this little book lacks content; all 19 chapters are relevant to the bedside practice of neurology. Aimed at medical students and junior doctors, the author successfully demystifies neurology in a refreshingly direct way based on well explained general principles and a clear and systematic approach." --Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation