Despite the rapid advances in medical science, the majority of people who visit a doctor have medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), symptoms that remain a mystery despite extensive diagnostic studies. The most common MUS are back pain, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, and dizziness. This book addresses the obstacles of managing people with MUS in our modern day society from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Most MUS are psychosomatic in origin, caused by a complex interaction between nature and nurture, between biological and psychosocial factors. Psychosomatic symptoms are as real and as severe as the symptoms associated with structural damage to the brain. Unique and concise, the book explores the biological and psychosocial mechanisms, the clinical features, and current and future treatments of common MUS. Exploring the unsolved in an accessible manner, Medically Unexplained Symptoms invokes the methodologies of medical science, history, and sociology to investigate how brain flaws can lead to debilitating symptoms.

Anyone who has experienced the sensation of the room spinning around or the lightheadedness that signals an impending faint knows how bad it feels to be dizzy. Almost any medical condition can cause dizziness, but the most common include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, transient drops in blood pressure, migraine, and anxiety. Inner ear disorders that cause dizziness are often associated with abnormal eye movements-in fact, it's possible to diagnose an acute inner ear infection in five seconds, just by looking at a person's eyes. In Dizziness, Drs. Gregory T. Whitman and Robert W. Baloh explore the different conditions that can cause dizziness, describe the types of dizziness they see most frequently, and explain what people with dizziness can do to feel better. A detailed look at one of the most common-and complex-medical complaints, Dizziness distills Drs. Whitman and Baloh's six decades of combined experience into a short and practical guide. Packed with useful tips on diagnosis and treatment, Dizziness reveals how top doctors analyze dizziness, including the problems with balance and walking that go along with it. The book also explains the importance of overcoming dizziness and describes what people who are dizzy can do to get an accurate diagnosis. Combining background on specific forms of dizziness with descriptions of optimal treatments for each one, Dizziness covers everything from conditions that cause dizziness when a person changes position (such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and orthostatic hypotension) to conditions that cause dizzy spells without warning or trigger (such as Meniere's disease and migraine-associated dizziness). The book explores bouts of dizziness that last for days, as well as constant dizziness that lasts for weeks, months, or even years. Enhanced with patient stories and rounded out by a glossary of terms and an appendix describing home exercises, this is the go-to book for anyone who struggles with dizziness.

It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a "sonic weapon" that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the "attack" on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of "Havana Syndrome." This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored across 11-chapters which offer insights by a prominent neurologist and an expert on psychogenic illness. A lively and enthralling read, the authors explore the history of similar scares from the 18th century belief that sounds from certain musical instruments were harmful to human health, to 19th century cases of "telephone shock," and more contemporary panics involving people living near wind turbines that have been tied to a variety of health complaints. The authors provide dozens of examples of kindred episodes of mass hysteria throughout history, in addition to psychosomatic conditions and even the role of insects in triggering outbreaks. Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria is a scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.

Anyone who has experienced the sensation of the room spinning around or the lightheadedness that signals an impending faint knows how bad it feels to be dizzy. Almost any medical condition can cause dizziness, but the most common include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, transient drops in blood pressure, migraine, and anxiety. Inner ear disorders that cause dizziness are often associated with abnormal eye movements-in fact, it's possible to diagnose an acute inner ear infection in five seconds, just by looking at a person's eyes. In Dizziness, Drs. Gregory T. Whitman and Robert W. Baloh explore the different conditions that can cause dizziness, describe the types of dizziness they see most frequently, and explain what people with dizziness can do to feel better. A detailed look at one of the most common-and complex-medical complaints, Dizziness distills Drs. Whitman and Baloh's six decades of combined experience into a short and practical guide. Packed with useful tips on diagnosis and treatment, Dizziness reveals how top doctors analyze dizziness, including the problems with balance and walking that go along with it. The book also explains the importance of overcoming dizziness and describes what people who are dizzy can do to get an accurate diagnosis. Combining background on specific forms of dizziness with descriptions of optimal treatments for each one, Dizziness covers everything from conditions that cause dizziness when a person changes position (such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and orthostatic hypotension) to conditions that cause dizzy spells without warning or trigger (such as Meniere's disease and migraine-associated dizziness). The book explores bouts of dizziness that last for days, as well as constant dizziness that lasts for weeks, months, or even years. Enhanced with patient stories and rounded out by a glossary of terms and an appendix describing home exercises, this is the go-to book for anyone who struggles with dizziness.

This book focuses on the benefits of exercise for prevention and treatment of chronic brain disorders. It is a guide for finding the right exercise routine for each individual. The goal is to show the reader why everyone needs to exercise, especially as we get older. The brain needs physical exercise both for normal health and for preventing and treating diseases common with aging. How much exercise is needed? As we see throughout the book there is no one fits all rule with regard to the amount of exercise required. The key is to make exercise a part of one's daily routine. The beneficial effect of exercise is transient, lasting days to weeks, so it must be a lifelong pursuit. Can we exercise too much? Anything done in excess can potentially be dangerous but with the common sense approach outlined in this book anyone, regardless of underlying health condition, can find some type of exercise that is safe and effective.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of vertigo, affects one in five people at some point during their lifetime, triggering the sudden feeling like one is moving or spinning when perfectly still. Early pieces of this medical puzzle appeared in the early 19th century in studies of the inner ear, yet the cause and cure for BPPV was not clearly understood until the late 20th century and it took a few more decades before this simple cure was accepted. Vertigo: Five Physician Scientists and the Quest for a Cure follows this centuries long trek. The book follows the key discoveries made by Prosper Meniere (1799-1862) who first recognized that vertigo could originate from the inner ear, Josef Breuer (1842-1925) who conducted groundbreaking research on the inner ear during his evenings at home after he spent his days working in a busy private medical practice, Robert Barany (1876-1936) who received the Nobel Prize for his early work on the inner ear, Charles Hallpike (1900-1979) who showed that BPPV originates from the inner ear, and Harold Schuknecht (1917-1996) who provided key observations on the mechanism of BPPV. Dr. Robert W. Baloh spins together a fascinating history using detailed interviews from those close to the key investigators and historical documents previously unavailable in the English language to provide a historical approach to understanding the vestibular system and with it a better understanding of vertigo itself.

This book provides a framework for understanding the pathophysiology of diseases involving the vestibular system. The book is divided into four parts: I. Anatomy and physiology of the vestibular system; II. Evaluation of the dizzy patient; III. Diagnosis and management of common neurotologic disorders; and IV. Symptomatic treatment of vertigo. Part I reviews the anatomy and physiology of the vestibular system with emphasis on clinically relevant material. Part II outlines the important features in the patient's history, examination, and laboratory evaluation that determine the probable site of lesion. Part III covers the differential diagnostic points that help the clinician decide on the cause and treatment of the patient's problem. Part IV describes the commonly used antivertiginous and antiemetic drugs and the rationale for vestibular exercises. The recent breakthroughs in the vestibular sciences are reviewed. This book will helpful to all physician's who study and treat patients complaining of dizziness.