Neurological Clinical Pharmacology (eBook)

In recent years there has been much interest in clinical pharmacology and its ap- plication to the treatment of disease, including disease of the nervous system. At the same time there have been major advances in basic neuropharmacology. The aim of this book is to integrate clinical pharmacology with basic neuropharmacology and clinical neurology. The book discusses, in the light of clinical pharmacology, and par- ticularly pharmacokinetics, the treatment of those disorders of the nervous system that are conventionally managed by the clinical neurologist. Matters pertaining to psychopharmacology have been deliberately excluded except in so far as they impinge on ordinary clinical neurological practice. The extent to which various disorders have been considered has depended partly on their importance to the clinical neurologist practising in non-tropical areas, and partly on the amount of data available relating to the relevant drug treatment. Thus the book is directed at clinical neurologists and those intending to practise clinical neurology. However it also contains material of in- terest to the general physician, paediatrician, psychiatrist and clinical pharmacologist. Although the emphasis in this book is on drug treatment, to preserve balance it has seemed desirable to discuss briefly certain non-pharmacological aspects of thera- peutics. The orderly methodical approach used in the book offers two possible advan- tages: first, once the reader is familiar with the approach (see Guide to the Use of This Book, p.