It was only in 1980 that the first recognisable magnetic resonance images of the human brain were published, by Moore and Holland from Nottingham University in England. There then followed a number of clinical trials of brain imaging, the most notable from the Hammersmith Hospital in London using a system designed by EMI, the original manufacturers of the first CT machines. A true revolution in medicine has ensued; in only a few years there are thousands of scanning units, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has assumed a central importance in medical investigation. It is an extraordinary fact that within a few years of development, the esoteric physics of nuclear spin, angular momentum, and magnetic vector precession were harnessed to provide exquisite images of living anatomy; modem science has no greater tribute. That indisputable king of neurology and the oldest of recorded conditions, epilepsy, has not been untouched by the new technology; indeed, it is our view that the introduction of MRI of electroencephalography (EEG) in the late has been as important to epilepsy as was that 1930s. Now, for the first time, the structural and aetiological basis of the condition is susceptible to thorough investigation, and MRI can provide structural detail to parallel the functional detail of EEG. MRI has the same potential as had EEG over 50 years ago, to provide a new level of understanding of the basic mechanisms, the clinical features and the treatment of epilepsy.

Coeliac disease may be manifested by gastrointestinal symptoms, or be silent, latent or 'potential'. It may also be present with dermatitis herpetiformis, dental enamel defects or neurological disorders - especially epilepsy. In the case of the latter symptoms these appear mostly in relation to occipital seizures, frequently intractable. This book examines these, and other neurological manifestations. This book brings together many of the results of the investigations and opinions of the world's leading researchers in the fields of neurology, psychiatry, internal medicine, gastroenterology, immunology, genetics and imaging.

Thanks to advanced imaging techniques, it is now possible to recognise in vivo structural alterations of the cortex leading in many patients to epileptic syndromes, frequently resistant to pharmacological treatment. Areas analysed in this book are: mechanisms of cortical development; animal models of neuronal migration disorders mimicking human pathology; electroclinical, neuroradiological and neuropathological studies of the different forms of cortical dysplasia. This volume includes contributions from neurologists, epileptologists, neuropaediatricians as well as paediatricians and neuroscientists, stimulating a multidisciplinary discussion to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

A comprehensive international review of basic and clinical research based on the Mariani Foundation Colloquium on frontal lobe epilepsy in childhood and adolescence held at the Milan State University in October 2000. Distinguished authors discuss advances in neurogenetics, neuropsychology and imaging. This book describes clinical, electroencephalographic and neuroimaging patterns of frontal lobe epilepsy in detail and reviews advances in medical and surgical treatment. It will be useful and stimulating reading for pediatric and adult epilepsy specialists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists and other behavioural scientists, and research workers in epileptology.

This volume is devoted to a particular facet of infantile epilepsy, Occipital Seizures and Epilepsies. That an epileptogenic process common to all ages manifests itself differently according to the stages of cerebral evolution suggests that a deeper investigation of these age-dependent epilepsies and their related conditions is necessary. Findings of basic sciences in epileptogenicity are compared with clinical data and developed towards practical applications of general interest, such as the fundamental differential diagnosis between occipital seizures and migrainous attacks.Since the normal maturation of the brain in the post-natal period largely depends on early sensory-motor experience, particularly visual functions, it is essential to consider research maturation of visual systems, as it may offer stimulating insights into the peculiarities of these 'epileptic syndromes' which represent a model for the study of the child's epilepsy. Though dealing with a particular problem in pediatric neurology, they point to a general process in human biology.