Book Review
Neuropsychiatry
Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychiatry. David P Moore. New York: Oxford University Press; 2001. 747 p. CAN$156.00.
Reviewer
rating*: Excellent
Review by Eldon Tunks, MD, FRCPC
Hamilton, Ontario
This book is comprehensive and up to date, with thousands of references, and will be appreciated especially by those working in consultation-liaison psychiatry, by residents preparing for exams, and by neuropsychologists. The text is an excellent value.
The first 364 pages are devoted to describing signs, symptoms, and syndromes. Subsequent pages (p 367–733) provide information about specific disorders, and there are 12 pages of index. The “Specific Disorders” section is divided into pathology and etiology, clinical features, course, differential diagnosis, and treatment. In addition, an ample list of references follows at the end of each group of related disorders.
The first one-half of the book is a primer or introduction to psychiatric diagnosis, describing and defining both common and unusual symptoms, signs, and syndromes, and explaining imaging and functional tests. The second one-half of the text comprehensively deals with neurodegenerative, congenital, vascular, traumatic, hypoxic, nutritional and metabolic, infectious and prion-related, endocrine, immune-related, neoplastic, toxic or withdrawal, and substance or medication-induced disorders, as well as sleep disorders and idiopathic psychiatric disorders. This text accomplishes its objective, especially in providing a reliable text dealing with common and rare neuropsychiatric conditions and in giving an up-to-date semeiology, pathophysiology, and treatment for each condition.
Dr Moore is a competent and respected author who writes authoritatively and concisely. He is also well organized, and his style is clear and easy to read. References are often very recent, and classic papers are also cited. There are infrequent typographical errors that escaped the proofreading, but nowhere do they change the meaning or cause ambiguity. The overall organization makes it easy to use, and the print and the illustrations are attractive and well laid-out.
A few relevant topics are absent from the text; specifically, lithium toxicity–induced brain injury, chronic pain, coma, the Ganser syndrome, neuropsychological testing, and the Glasgow Coma Scale. The sections on carbon monoxide poisoning and postconcussional syndrome are perhaps too summarized to do justice to these topics. Nevertheless, the scope of the contents of the text is encyclopedic and comprehensive.
Most psychiatrists will use it, not as a primer to be read consecutively but as a reference for a wide variety of neuropsychiatric conditions, and for this purpose, the Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychiatry will be a useful companion.
*Reviewer
Rating Scale/ Échelle d’évaluation du réviseur
Excellent / Excellent
Very Good / Très bon
Good / Bon
Fair / Passable
Not recommended / Pas recommandé
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