Neurobehavioral Aspects Of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is the most common neurological disease affecting young and middle-aged adults, and while much is known about its classic motor and sensory symptoms, it has only been during the past decade, with the advent of specialized neuropsychological test procedures and brain imaging methods, that the cognitive and behavioral changes associated with the disorder have come to be better understood. This book charts that recent progress. It provides a balanced, interdisciplinary view, covering the prevalence, range, type, and course of cognitive and affective disturbances in multiple sclerosis; the interrelationship of the neurobehavioral disturbance with brain abnormalities as visualized by neuroimaging; and the impact of cognitive and behavioral disabilities on patient rehabilitation. The book will be of value to all physicians and psychologists who deal with MS patients. It will update their knowledge of the disease and its ramifications, and will help in communicating this information to patients and their families.

Written in an immediate, accessible way, this book has a crossover appeal, making it of interest not only to neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists, neuropsychologists, psychologists, occupational therapists, and nurses but to people with MS and their caregivers, family, and friends.

The author has written an easily accessible summary of neuropsychological tests, neuropsychiatric disorders, and the relationships of test performance to disorder and treatment strategy. This ready reference provides neuropsychologists with an understanding of the medical context within which neuropsychological evaluation and psychosocial therapy takes place.

Multiple sclerosis is the most common cause of neurological disability in young and middle-aged adults. This fully updated and revised new edition provides a detailed account of the many neuropsychiatric disorders associated with MS and is relevant to both the research and the clinical setting. Using the latest brain imaging findings and results from treatment trials, the symptoms, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depression in MS are covered, as are psychosocial factors and the link between depression and MRI abnormalities. Subsequent chapters focus on cognitive dysfunction in MS, including the natural history of cognitive change, the use of screening instruments and neuropsychological batteries, brain imaging correlations and management strategies. The book concludes with a survey of the behavioral benefits and risks associated with disease-modifying drugs. It will be valuable to all mental health professionals, neurologists, and others caring for those affected by MS.

The nurse plays a vital role as an educator, care provider, and advocate for patients and families affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). The companion book to an earlier work, Comprehensive Nursing Care in Multiple Sclerosis, Advanced Concepts in Multiple Sclerosis Nursing Care, 2nd Edition examines complex issues in MS management and reflects a new philosophy of MS care: one of empowerment. The focus is on the numerous settings in which MS nurses practice, as well as their many roles and responsibilities in managing this highly variable disease. It will provide the reader with an updated view of MS along with a greater understanding of its lifelong impact. Special features of the second edition include: A new chapter on sustaining hope in MS patients A new chapter on treatment of acute exacerbations A new chapter on emerging intravenous therapies Expanded sections on pain, depression, and skin care with frequent injections The book is divided into sections dealing with the disease itself, advanced practice requirements for nurses, and advanced symptom management. Contributors to Advanced Concepts in Multiple Sclerosis Nursing Care, 2nd Edition are nurse clinicians and researchers who work in geographically diverse practice settings throughout North America and Europe. The book will provide nurses with tools and strategies to improve the lives affected by multiple sclerosis and to reinforce the role of the nurse in managing it.

This book reviews the therapeutic developments in clinical trial design that have resulted in new treatment options for patients suffering from MS. Important ethical considerations that arise with the new treatments are included, as well as the perspective on the emergence of MS as a treatable disease.

Despite medical technological advances, the major killers with which we must currently contend have remained essentially the same for the past few decades. Stroke, cancer, and heart disease together account for the vast majority of deaths in the United States. In addition, due to improved medical care, many Americans who would previously have died now survive these disorders, necessitating that they receive appropriate rehabilitation efforts. One result of our own medical advances is that we must now accept the high costs associated with providing quality care to individuals who develop one of these problems, and we must avail ourselves to assist of afflicted individuals. families Despite the relative stability of causes of death and disability, the health-care field is currently experiencing tremendous pressures, both from professionals with in the field, who desire more and better technology than is currently available, and from the public and other payers of health care (e.g., insurance companies), who seek an end to increasing health-care costs. These pressures, along with an increased emphasis on providing evidence of cost-effectiveness and quality assurance, are substantially changing the way that health-care professionals perform their jobs.

The therapeutic era for MS has begun, and many new, potentially effective treatments are now available. MRI offers a range of techniques which are more reliable and sensitive than any other available approach in detecting brain and spinal cord abnormalities, monitoring their evolution, and providing in vivo information about heterogenous pathological substrates of the MS lesions. Readers will find this volume a valuable summary of the state-of- the art, as well as a useful reference text from which to plan future clinical trials in MS.