Publisher's Synopsis
This aims to be the definitive textbook and a practical clinical reference on medical and surgical treatment of epilepsy, one of the commonest serious neurological conditions affecting 50 million people worldwide. It forms a detailed review and distillation of the literature, providing answers to the diversity of questions encountered in day to day clinical practice, and guiding the clinician through the difficult decision–making processes involved in the successful therapy of this debilitating disease. The text begins with a concise summary of the recent scientific developments in epileptology and discussion of the classification and diagnosis of epilepsy. A large medical section follows, covering in detail the indications, clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and outcome of drug treatment. The surgical section deals with indications, patient selection, pre–surgical assessment, surgical technique, anaesthesia, complications and outcome. Epilepsy is the commonest serious neurological condition and affects 50 million people worldwide. Each day in the UK alone 65 people will suffer their first attack. The chance of developing epilepsy at some point in life has been estimated as high as 3.5% (1 in 30). In most cases it is a chronic condition requiring long–term medical treatment and the affected individual is considerably handicapped despite bearing no outward signs of disability. The successful treatment of epilepsy is a complex process involving careful and rational analysis of a large number of variables and is rarely achieved. In recent years, there have been rapid advances both in medical and surgical
