ABSTRACT
Any discussion of the clinical characteristics of Parkinson's disease must take into account the inaccuracies of clinical diagnosis. In a successive series of 100 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, only 76 fulfilled the criteria for diagnosis at post-mortem examination. Attempts to tighten the diagnostic criteria lead to increased specificity but with reduced sensitivity.
In An Atlas of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders Dr. David Perkin has compiled a series of photographs highlighting various aspects of Parkinson's disease and related motor disorders. The book provides a useful sample of clinical, investigative (CT, MRI, and PET) and pathological images with succinct descriptive text of the disorders featured.
Approximately one-third of the material in this book is pathological, incorporating both macroscopic and microscopic sections. A further quarter of the material is represented by imaging, principally magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. The area of movement disorders has been particularly fruitful for PET scanning, which promises, with the development of specific ligands for the various receptor sites, to further expand understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of the movement disorders.
Reflecting the highest standards clinical photography and imaging along with the distinguished author's expert knowledge of the subject, Dr. Perkin's An Atlas of Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders is the definitive and essential clinical reference in its field.
