edited by A. Nehlig, J. Motte, S. L. Moshé, and P. Plouin, 311 pp, with illus, $103, ISBN 0-86196-578-7, London, England, John Libbey, 1999,
Copyright 2000 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.2000
The stated purpose of this book was to clarify the many clinical questions related to the age-specific features that characterize childhood epilepsies. The book was the result of 2 meetings that brought together clinicians and basic scientists, one held in Houston in 1992 and the second in Alsace, France, in 1997. This endeavor was not only ambitious but also successful.
The 25 chapters of the book are grouped into 6 parts followed by concluding remarks. The 6 main issues that are addressed include brain development and changes in excitability, lesional partial epilepsies and neuronal migration disorders, age-specific syndromes, nongenetic experimental models of childhood epilepsies, consequences of seizures in the immature and mature brain, and consequences of treatment for brain development. All of this brings together a rich array of experimental models, experimental findings, clinical observations, and clinical reviews. The common denominator of seizures and the developing brain is maintained throughout. The book is richly illustrated and the quality of the illustrations is excellent. Overall, the quality of the editing is good except for minor inconsistencies, such as the placement of the chapter summary at the beginning or the end or no summary at all.
Childhood Epilepsies and Brain Development (Current Problems With Epilepsy Series, No. 14). Arch Neurol. 2000;57(8):1229. doi: