Medicine / Healthcare: general issues / topics Books

Book SynopsisIntroducing Neuropsychology, Second Edition investigates the functions of the brain and explores the relationships between brain systems and human behaviour. The material is presented in a jargon-free, easy to understand manner and aims to guide students new to the field through current areas of research.Following a brief history of the discipline and a description of methods in neuropsychology, the remaining chapters review traditional and recent research findings. Both cognitive and clinical aspects of neuropsychology are addressed to illustrate the advances scientists are making (on many fronts) in their quest to understand brain - behaviour relationships in both normal and disturbed functioning. The rapid developments in neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience resulting from traditional research methods as well as new brain-imaging techniques are presented in a clear and straightforward way. Each chapter has been fully revised and updated and new brain-imaging data are incorporated throughout, especially in the later chapters on Emotion and Motivation, and Executive Functions. As in the first edition, key topics are dealt with in separate focus boxes, and “interim comment” sections allow the reader a chance to “take stock” at regular intervals. The book assumes no particular expertise on the reader’s part in either psychology or brain physiology. Thus, it will be of great interest not only to those studying neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, but also to medical and nursing students, and indeed anyone who is interested in learning about recent progress in understanding brain–behaviour relationships.Trade Review"Introduction to Neuropsychology 2nd Edition provides a concise overview to the diverse and fascinating topics within this field. The chapters are up-to-date and well referenced, and theoretical debates are explained in meaningful terms; particularly welcome are the contributions from neuroimaging and the stimulating impact this has made to neuropsychology in general. A highly recommended read." - Dr Paul Richardson, Brain, Behaviour & Cognition Group, Sheffield Hallam University, UK"This text serves as an excellent introduction to the fascinating field of neuropsychology and it is highly suitable for undergraduate students of psychology and/or neuroscience. The authors have endeavoured to avoid unnecessary use of obscure terms, and, where necessary, such terms are clearly explained. As a result, the book is eminently readable. I highly recommend it." - Jessica Fish, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK"Introduction to Neuropsychology, 2nd Edition provides a concise overview to the diverse and fascinating topics within this field. The chapters are up-to-date, well referenced and theoretical debates are explained in meaningful terms; particularly welcome are the contributions from neuroimaging and the stimulating impact this has made to neuropsychology in general. A highly recommended read." - Dr Paul Richardson, Brain Behaviour & Cognition Group, Sheffield Hallam University, UKTable of Contents1.The Foundations of Neuropsychology. 2. Methods in Neuropsychology. 3.Lateralisation. Somatosensation and Neuroplasticity. 4. Motor Control and Movement Disorders. 5. Language and the Brain. 6.Memory and Amnesia. 7.Visual Object Recognition and Spatial Processing. 8.Attention and Consciousness. 9.Emotion and Motivation. 10.Executive Functions. Appendix: A Primer of Nervous System and Function.

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Book SynopsisTranscatheter Valve Repair discusses all aspects related to percutaneous and established valve repair methods. The book is divided into few major sections covering all four valves and other topics. Each section contains several chapters discussing everything related to that valve. Beginning with the pulmonary valve, since it was the first valve to be tackled in the catheterization laboratory, and then moving to the aortic, then the mitral and then finally end with the tricuspid valve. 1.5M US citizens alone have some degree of aortic valve stenosis, with half (750K) requiring aortic valve replacement. Aortic valve replacement, on the whole, is performed by surgeons, requiring bypass machines and technicians, as well as the usual operating team. The operation is expensive and occupies a considerable amount of operating room time. Mostly, the aortic valve is calcified and the usual option available to patients is valve replacement with a variety of choices, ranging from porcine valves to synthetic, for which there are many manufacturers. It should be noted that the aortic valve is the most problematic of valves. Percutaneous procedures are the answer.The bottom line is that given the growing elderly population, many more patients will require valve repair, thus increasing health care costs with not only surgical operations but also hospitalisation. Percutanous valve repair, whilst requiring a cath lab team, does not involve bypass machines nor extended hospitalisation. Like percutaneous transluminal coronary artery interventions (PTCA) has replaced coronary artery bypass grafts (once the golden standard), and now stenting having replaced PTCA and its balloons. We now see drug eluting stents replacing ordinary stents (though at a much higher cost. There will be a huge movement toward percutanous valve repair, which should presumably cut costs but also morbidity and mortality.Trade Review"an excellent compilation of a fast and newly developing field. There is liberal use of color illustrations. […] I think cardiologists, both pediatric and adult, and cardiac surgeons will find something of interest in this book. As this field develops and more clinical information becomes available, it is likely that future editions will include more outcomes data and will allow this first-rate book to develop into a classic." Howard C. Herrmann, Circulation, 2006, 114: 12Table of ContentsThe Pulmonary Valve. Embryology/Pathology of the pulmonary valve both in stenosis and regurgitation: Pulmonary Regurgitation. Assessment of the pulmonary valve with magnetic resonance imaging. Hemodynamic evaluation of pulmonary valve disease and Indications for repair/replacement of the valve. Hemodynamic Evaluation of Pulmonary Valve Disease:Indications for Repair, Replacement and Valvuloplasty. Impact of emerging technologies in cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery- Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation. Established techniques for repair/replacement of the pulmonic valve: Small intestinal submucosa-a new generation of valve replacement. Available Transcatheter pulmonary valves: Perventricular Technique with Shelhigh valve. Available transcatheter pulmonary valves- Bonhoeffer valve. Extending the present limitations and indications of percutaneous pulmonary valve replacement to small patients and large ventricular outflow tracts. The Aortic Valve. Embryology/Pathology of the aortic valve in AS and AR. Aortic Stenosis: Pathophysiology, clinical, and echocardiographic manifestations. Hemodynamic Evaluation of aortic valve disease and Indications for repair/replacement. Impact of new percutaneous techniques of aortic valve replacement on cardiology/cardiac surgical practice.Established Methods of aortic valve repair and replacement. Non-surgical aortic valve replacement: history, present and future perspectives. Clinical Experience with the Percutaneous Heart Valve for treatment of degenerative aortic stenosis. The CoreValve in the Aortic Position. Development of a Nanosynthesized Metallic Percutaneous Aortic Valve. The Mitral Valve. Embryology of the mitral valve and Pathology of mitral valve stenosis, Regurgitation. Mitral valve disease. MRI/CT Scan evaluation of the mitral valve. Invasive Hemodynamics for the assessment of the mitral valve. Impact of emerging percutaneous techniques on Cardiology and cardiac surgical practice: Established methods of surgical mitral valve repair and replacement. Percutaneous leaflet repair for mitral regurgitation using the Evalve edge-to-edge clip technique. Available Transcatheter mitral valve repair techniques. CS method. A Hybrid approach to the mini-invasive replacement of the mitral valve. The Tricuspid Valve. Evaluation of the tricuspid valve using MRI. Hemodynamic evaluation of tricuspid stenosis and regurgitation: Indications for repair and replacement. Established surgical methods for tricuspid valve repair and replacement. Available devices for percutaneous replacement of the tricuspid valve. Tissue Engineering. Different tissues for valves: How to choose the right tissue. Valve Testing. Valve testing: Durability and beyond

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Book SynopsisDo You Have a Thyroid Disorder? If your doctor has told you that you have a thyroid disorder, perhaps you feel some relief in having pinpointed the source of your troublesome symptoms. As you may know, thyroid ailments often elude a diagnosis since they may mimic other illnesses. Now that you have a diagnosis, becoming informed will help you receive better health care. The authors, specialists in thyroid treatment, can help you understand both the complex function of your thyroid and how your disorder can best be treated. In A Simple Guide to Thyroid Disorders, they take special care to lay out the basics in a reader-friendly way. Among the topics they discuss: · medical tests you need to diagnose thyroid problems · hypothyroidism…symptoms and treatment · hyperthyroidism…symptoms and treatment · coping with emotional highs and lows · dealing with thyroid-related weight problems · medications and surgeries for thyroid disorders · thyroid nodules and cancers A Simple Guide to a Complex Disorder

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Book SynopsisIs lowering your temperature when you have a fever helpful? Do you really need to finish every course of antibiotics? Or could some of the treatments you think are healing you actually be harming you? Medicine has significantly advanced in the last few decades. But while we have learned a lot, we still rely on medical interventions that are vastly out of date and can adversely affect our health. In this game-changing book, infectious-disease expert and Rotavirus vaccine inventor Dr Offit highlights fifteen common medical interventions still recommended and practised by medical professionals, despite clear evidence that they are harmful — including the treatment of acid reflux in babies and the reliance on heart stents and knee surgery. By presenting medical alternatives, Overkill gives patients invaluable information to help them ask their doctors better questions and to advocate for their own health.Trade Review‘A myth-busting book.’ * Daily Mail *‘With ample end notes (50 pages worth) to support challenges he may expect to be forthcoming, this hit-list of medical myths and misguided therapies comes from a highly reputable source - the director of Vaccine Education at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and a professor of vaccinology and paediatrics.’ -- Robin Osborne * GPSpeak *Praise for Bad Advice: ‘In breezy and deceptively conversational prose that often winks with humour, Bad Advice breaks down complex scientific subjects that have been distorted through several cultural lenses’ -- Karen Iris Tucker * The Washington Post *Praise for Bad Advice: ‘Paul Offit is a pediatrician, a vaccine scientist, and one of our foremost explainers of science. In Bad Advice, he distills what he has learned — often the hard way — from standing up for science in the face of bogus theories, quack remedies, and the flat-out denial of empirical fact. Skillfully, Offit uses stories of his many missteps in the treacherous public arena to teach us how to confront pseudoscience effectively. In the process, without noticing, we learn fascinating lessons in the relevant science. A forcefully-written, indispensable book, particularly at the present moment.’ -- Geoffrey Kabat, cancer epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of Getting Risk Right: understanding the science of elusive health risksPraise for Bad Advice: ‘The beauty of mass communication in our free society is also our curse. Information flows so quickly, from so many different sources, that one can't help but be overwhelmed — and too frequently misled. No one has fought harder over the years to educate the public, and to puncture the dangerously false dogmas of pseudoscience, than Paul Offit. Bad Advice is a brilliant extension of his dictate, so aptly stated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, that one is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. Celebrities and politicians bear the brunt of Offit's elegantly written, often hilarious, pinpoint assaults. But what makes this book truly special is its vision of how science can, and must, be defended against its despoilers. Bad Advice is, in every sense, an essential read.’ -- David Oshinsky, director of the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU School of MedicinePraise for Pandora's Lab: ‘Many dramatic scientific discoveries have lost their gloss or perhaps were never scientific to begin with, as pediatrician Offit shows in this heated denunciation of bad science … In warning the public of pseudoscientific danger, Offit urges the public to examine available data; beware of quick fixes, fads, and charismatic health gurus; and understand that every advance comes at a price.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for Pandora's Lab: ‘Pandora's Lab deftly details seven scientific mistakes that have occurred over the last 100 years … Sufficient data exposes the truth when different scientists verify the claims, but this work's examples reveal how this obvious check procedure becomes ignored or bypassed in response to extraordinary hopes, popular movements, and/or by defaulting to one individual.’ * Choice *Praise for Do You Believe in Magic?: ‘Over the last decade [Offit] has become a leading debunker of mass misconceptions surrounding infections and vaccines, and now he is taking on the entire field of alternative medicine, from acupuncture to vitamins.’ * New York Times *Praise for Do You Believe in Magic?: ‘With a fascinating history of hucksters, and a critical chronology of how supplements escaped regulation, Offit cautions consumers not to ‘give alternative medicine a free pass because we’re fed up with conventional medicine.’ His is a bravely unsentimental and dutifully researched guide for consumers to distinguish between quacks and a cure.’ STARRED REVIEW -- Publishers Weekly

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