BOOK REVIEW

SEIZURES AND EPILEPSY IN THE ELDERLYEditors: A. James Rowan and R. Eugene Ramsay,Butterworth-Heinemann, 225 Wildwood Ave., Unit B, POBox 4500, Woburn, MA 01810-2041, 1996, 343 pp.,$85.00.

As our population demographics gradually shift toward alarger proportion of elderly people in our communities,the field of geriatrics will continue to grow. In this firstedition, the authors have attempted to address the specificintricacies of assessment and treatment of epilepsy in el-derly patients. With the recognition that the incidence ofepilepsy in the elderly is very high, it appears that this texthas arrived just in time. The book covers broad aspects ofthe care of elderly epileptic patients and includes variousthemes outlining the relevant epidemiology and patho-physiology of aging and their relationship to diagnosesand treatment of seizures, as well as directions in the field.Overall, the individual chapters are very well written. Theauthors write in a very straightforward manner, avoidingthe temptation to fill the pages with esoteric and/or clini-cally irrelevant information, thus providing a direct and

concise reference for the clinician. Particularly excellentchapters are those on pathologic processes in the elderlyand their association with seizure, electroencephalographyin the elderly, and new antiepileptic medications. One ofthe book’s strongest points is the extensive and currentreferences to the literature.

One limitation which might affect the readers’ enjoy-ment of this text revolves around some editing details.There were occasional typographical errors. Some of thechapters had titles that did not completely reflect the ma-terial in the chapter. Finally, the introductions to many ofthe chapters contain identical information, which, towardthe end of the book, becomes somewhat tiresome for thereader.

On the whole, this book provides the clinician withpractical, timely, and current information.

BRADLEY DAVIS, MDDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of Iowa HospitalsIowa City, IA 52242

Book Review MUSCLE & NERVE May 1997 633