Tuite P, Dagher A, eds. Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Movement Disorders: A Guide for Clinicians and Scientists. Cambridge Medicine; 2013; 291 pgs; $150.00
Movement disorders is a subspecialty of neurology, with expertise directed to disorders that affect the central control of movement. Such diseases and syndromes are frequently accompanied by manifestations of a different nature, such as cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dysfunctions. In some cases, such as in dystonias and the tic disorders, sensory information processing contributes to their clinical phenomenology and raises pathophysiological possibilities.
Conventional MRI has been of immeasurable value to the fields of stroke neurology, neuro-oncology, and multiple sclerosis, but less to the diagnosis of many movement disorders. Parkinson disease, adult-onset focal dystonias, and tic disorders—arguably the bread and butter of movement disorder practice—do not get much from conventional MRI in terms of additional information. This is not to diminish the important contribution conventional MRI has brought to rare disorders of movements, such as the disorders of iron metabolism.
The stage is set for a textbook that is focused on presenting the next level of MRI technology, one that not only enhances the diagnosis of movement disorders (see chapter 2, “Imaging Iron in Parkinson’s Disease”) but also furthers our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of motor control and connectedness to other CNS centers. This book challenges itself to the difficult task of being relevant to clinicians and scientists, and it is successful in great measure.
The book is organized into chapters. There are 8 chapters dedicated to different clinical of MR aspects of Parkinson disease. An additional 7 chapters are dedicated to other great categories of movement disorders, be they specific diseases (multiple system atrophy, Huntington disease) or syndromes (dystonia). Finally, there are specific chapters dedicated to MRI targeting in surgical treatment of movement disorders, clinical applications, and MRI in clinical trials. The chapters are properly organized into subchapters and accompanied by well-designed figures and diagrams, which are highly complementary to the text. Each chapter has a comprehensive list of references.
The text is an encyclopedic tour de force of the field and can be used as a launching pad for anybody interested in exploring the depth of what these advanced imaging techniques can reveal about the pathophysiology of movement disorders.
Each chapter presents material rich in detail. It has its own mix of easily understandable material and highly technical parts. The expertise of the reader will make him/her focus on those aspects of the text that are most relevant to their area of interest.
The clinical neurologist should not be intimidated by the complex technical jargon, as there are plenty of nuggets of information relevant to the understanding of mechanisms of disease. In that sense, the book would have benefitted from a glossary for such words as “off-resonance continuous wave pulse” and “free-recession longitudinal time constant.” The complexity of the technical material—such as that presented in the introductory chapter 1—may appear daunting to some clinicians, but rather than succumb to intimidation, they should proceed to the next chapters, as much more accessible material awaits them. In reality, any chapter can be enjoyed by itself with no need to depend on preceding information, including chapter 1.
On the other hand, the neurology and neuroradiology researcher will receive a wonderful overview of the salient aspects of the field, which will inform their decision as to pertinent areas they could direct their research. Neuropsychologists and cognitive neurologists will also encounter a wealth of information in such chapters as chapter 6 (“Functional MRI of Cognition and Mood in Parkinson’s Disease” and “Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy in Huntington’s Disease”).
This book is highly recommended to movement disorders neurologists and to neurosurgeons, neuroradiology fellows, neuropsychologists, MRI physicists, young or established MRI researchers interested in the gamut of disorders of motor control, and any informed clinician or scientist interested in the pathophysiology of movement disorders.
