From the New England Journal of Medicine, February 24, 2005
This is a very clearly written book with many illustrations, graphs, case vignettes, and succinct definitions. The authors have constructed an effective didactic tool that would serve well as the first reading material for anyone seeking information on sleep and its disorders. It should be highly recommended to graduate and medical students, residents, fellows, and sleep technologists. Candidates for the sleep medicine board examination will find this book to be a very useful review. It achieves its goal of serving as a practical compendium rather than as an all-inclusive textbook. The contents provide a solid foundation of knowledge regarding sleep medicine, but the book will also be very helpful to anyone who merely needs to understand what the results of various sleep studies mean -- it gives physicians a basic understanding of sleep disorders that they can apply in everyday clinical practice. Topics are clearly labeled, and the index efficiently directs the reader to the correct place. The book starts with a short section on the physiologic basis of sleep but quickly adopts a more clinical approach, outlining the way to assess a patient for a sleep disorder and to obtain a sleep history. It explains which tests are available, the purpose of each, and the findings one can expect. The chapters progress from general to more specific problems, but they always maintain a simple and pragmatic approach. The various chapter headings (e.g., "Approach to the Sleepy Patient" and "The Patient Who Cannot Sleep") indicate the book's systematic and clinically useful approach. Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice covers not only the basic neuroanatomy and pharmacology of sleep but also polygraphic and other test patterns. It explains clearly the meaning of various findings on sleep studies and covers all the major disorders outlined in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. (The authors were careful to integrate the 2004 revision of the classification into their book.) They devote an appropriate amount of space to a description of the major conditions, including the disorders of breathing during sleep, narcolepsy, and insomnias. But they delve further and discuss sleepwalking, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep behavior disorders, circadian rhythm disorders, movement disorders (including the restless legs syndrome and Parkinson's disease), and psychiatric disorders. Readers will appreciate the balanced structure of each chapter, with a combination of relevant case vignettes, graphs, illustrations, tables, and medication doses. This is an excellent book from which to learn basic sleep medicine; clinicians are likely to keep it on hand to respond to a wide assortment of sleep-related problems. Allison Chan, M.D.Copyright © 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.


From Book News, Inc.
Representing the different perspectives of neurology, psychiatry, and pulmonology, three professors working at the Mayo Sleep Disorder Center explain the science underlying the pathogenesis, diagnostic tools, and treatments of sleep disorders. They overview the physiological basis of sleep and the classification of sleep disorders, then outline the various approaches to diagnosing and treating narcolepsy, sleep apnea syndromes, and patients with respiratory diseases. The second half of the book addresses insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, psychiatric disorders, restless legs syndrome, and patients with parkinsonism and dementia.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description
Co-authored by a neurologist, a psychiatrist, and a pulmonologist, Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice reflects the cross-disciplinary nature in the clinical management of sleep disorders. The authors present an overview of sleep medicine from the perspective of the practicing clinician. They approach the subject through categories of sleep symptoms rather than lists of sleep disorders, reflecting the experience of both the family doctor and the specialist referring physician. Along with the overview of sleep medicine, this book reviews appropriate investigative procedures and provides guidelines on possible therapeutic strategies.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Co-authored by a neurologist, a psychiatrist and a pulmonologist working closely together at the Mayo Clinic, Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the clinical management of sleep disorders. The authors present an overview of sleep medicine including the physiological basis of sleep, diagnostic tools and possible therapeutic strategies, emphasizing throughout the role of the clinician in diagnosing and managing disease. A practical reference for the busy physician, Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice includes chapters on the assessment and diagnosis of sleep disorders, conditions such as narcolepsy and sleep apnea, the management of insomnia and a section on co-existent neurologic conditions such as epilepsy and dementia. It will be of interest to sleep medicine specialists and trainees as well as neurologists, pulmonologists, psychiatrists and internists.

SYNOPSIS