Book Reviews 233

points are especially well taken, e.g. that there is no such thing as a routine electrophysiological examination but only specific studies testing a previous clinical hypothesis.

The following chapters deal with all the major categories of peripheral nervous disorders in a highly informative yet concise manner. There is good coverage of the various types of AIDS neuropathies and of the uncommon types of nerve disorders of obscure origin.

An excellent chapter deals with the mechan- isms and general features of nerve trauma as well as with individual types of nerve injury in a very comprehensive manner.

The style is factual and to the point and the references are adequate and sufficiently up-to- date.

My only serious criticism, as a child neurolo- gist, is that this work is almost exclusively directed to adult neurologists and that disorders of the peripheral nervous system in children are given only minimal consideration. There is, for example, hardly any mention of Guillain-Barr6 syndrome in childhood and a number of points of interest to neuropaediatricians such as con- genital neuropathies simulating spinal atrophy or the diagnostic value of peripheral nerve involvement in the diagnosis of progressive metabolic conditions are not made or are only superficially alluded to.

This book can be highly recommended to adult neurologists and to general practitioners as it constitutes an excellent introduction to the study of peripheral nerves. The price may, how- ever, be dissuasive even though the quality of production is high.

JEAN AICARDI Department of Neurology

Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades Paris

Erbliche neuromuskulare Erkrankungen beim Kind. Edited by HANS MOSER, with eight contributors. Published 1992 by Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart. ISBN 3 437 11401 8, 159 pp. Price DM 58.

In response to public conscience many units have been set up in different countries to care for the disabled. This paperback comes from such a unit, specializing in the investigation and care of children with neuromuscular diseases, and situ-

ated in the paediatric clinic of the Insel hospital in Berne. The Swiss have for many decades been in the vanguard of patient care, particularly of children, so an outline of their practice is bound to command attention. The book is small and economically produced in order to be affordable and replete with information. There are chapters on the clinical, genetic and other investigative aspects of these diseases, and on their manage- ment including surgery and physiotherapy. Formal education, stimulation, the counselling of relatives and the question of integration of the patient in society are thoroughly covered, each chapter being written by expert members of a large team.

For the reader with little knowledge of German, there are numerous illustrations of affected children, and of fascinating examples of their art. As the book is intended not only for workers in the same field of care, but for educationalists, teachers, other social workers and above all for the patients and their parents, it tries to be "all things to all men": the scientific parts are too detailed and daunting for non- scientists, with reference lists they would find impossible to assess, and unnecessary for the scientifically trained who would probably be familiar with recent books on diseases of muscle such as the new edition of Jerusalem and Zierz. The section on genetics does contain some difficult matter, being concerned with recent, diagnostically important advances, but is clearly written and worth careful study.

A wide, selective readership is predicted for this book.

DENIS HARRIMAN Hunter's Moon, Hillcrest

Wetherby West Yorkshire

The Book Review Editor would like to draw the attention of readers to the following new pub- lications from Georg Thieme, Stuttgart and New York:

Fidia Research Foundation Symposium Series Volume 6: Transmitter Amino Acid Receptors Volume 7: Neurotransmitter Regulation of Gene Transcription Volume 8: Neurosteroids and Brain Function Volume 9: Excitatory Amino Acids

International School of Neuroscience Series Volume 1: Developmental Neurobiology.