Roughly 1.9 million people are afflicted with Parkinson's disease and, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, that number is on the rise
Parkinson's Disease Treatment Guide for Physicians will comprehensively cover Parkinson's disease (PD), including diagnosis, testing, prognosis, and possible causes. Its primary focus will be on treatment, specifying appropriate drugs, doses, and common side effects. It will address not only the treatment of motor problems (tremor, gait, etc.), but everything else that routinely arises in a PD practice, including osteoporosis prevention, blood pressure, sexual, bowel, or bladder dysfunction, dementia, depression, common skin rashes, and more.
This book will mirror Dr. Ahlskog's earlier book, The Parkinson's Treatment Book: Partnering with Your Doctor to Get the Most from Your Medications (2005). Each chapter in the current book will follow the same outline and cover nearly the same material as in each chapter of the earlier patient book, but it will be more succint and direct, with many teaching points summarized wtih bullet points or in small tables. In effect, the clinician and patient can both be reading, or have read, the same material.

Patients, spouses, families, and caregivers dealing with dementia face a host of complex issues, particularly when they must confront Dementia with Lewy Bodies or Parkinson's Disease. Until now there has been no guidebook for the general public to help navigate these challenging disorders.
In Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's Disease Dementia, Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog draws on 30 years of clinical and research work at Mayo Clinic to arm patients and families with crucial information that will enable them to work in tandem with their doctors. A diagnosis of dementia can be devastating, leaving families and caregivers struggling with a loved one's radically-impaired thinking and memory. When dementia is coupled with Parkinson's, which will develop in Parkinson's patients that live long enough, or with Lewy Bodies, which is the second leading cause of dementia behind Alzheimer's, the difficulties become even more daunting. And while these disorders are all too common, most people have little solid information about them. Too often doctors cannot spend the necessary time answering questions or discussing the specific challenges and treatments for these kinds of dementia during office visits. Arriving for a doctor appointment knowing the issues and treatment options beforehand gives patients and families an important head start. Dr. Ahlskog clearly explains all aspects of these disorders, their causes, symptoms, most effective drug treatments, proper doses, and which medications to avoid. He also discusses the complications that can arise in treating these conditions, given the variety of available medications and their possible side effects and interactions.
While a cure does not yet exist, in this accessible, highly informative guidebook, Dr. Ahlskog shows that optimal medical treatment can markedly improve the quality of life for both patients and family.

The field of movement disorders is relatively broad, encompassing disorders of increased movement, such as tremors, dystonia, and tics, to disorders characterized by a paucity of movement, such as Parkinson's disease. Our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and our treatment options are expanding at a rapid pace. This expansion ranges from the medical and surgical advances in treating Parkinson's disease to the flood of genetic abnormalities that have now been found to cause various movement disorders. Although many patients are seen by the movement disorders specialist in neurology clinics around the country, most of these patients receive their followup care from a primary care physician or "general" neurologist who must be versed in the character istics and treatment plans of this diverse group of disorders. The major goal of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines for the Practicing Physician is to distill this immense amount of information and to educate the practitioner about the many facets of the movement disorders field. We believe that this book fills a large void, since most texts on movement disorders are more detailed and geared toward the specialist. We have asked the chapter authors to emphasize the clinical characteristics of each disorder, discuss the differential diagnosis and the diagnostic testing, and then outline the various treatment options, as if they were teaching during a preceptorship in their clinic."

The field of movement disorders is relatively broad, encompassing disorders of increased movement, such as tremors, dystonia, and tics, to disorders characterized by a paucity of movement, such as Parkinson's disease. Our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and our treatment options are expanding at a rapid pace. This expansion ranges from the medical and surgical advances in treating Parkinson's disease to the flood of genetic abnormalities that have now been found to cause various movement disorders. Although many patients are seen by the movement disorders specialist in neurology clinics around the country, most of these patients receive their followup care from a primary care physician or "general" neurologist who must be versed in the character istics and treatment plans of this diverse group of disorders. The major goal of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines for the Practicing Physician is to distill this immense amount of information and to educate the practitioner about the many facets of the movement disorders field. We believe that this book fills a large void, since most texts on movement disorders are more detailed and geared toward the specialist. We have asked the chapter authors to emphasize the clinical characteristics of each disorder, discuss the differential diagnosis and the diagnostic testing, and then outline the various treatment options, as if they were teaching during a preceptorship in their clinic."

As many as one million Americans, including Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, suffer from Parkinson's Disease. Now, a leader in the fight against Parkinson's, Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog of the Mayo Clinic, has revised and updated his definitive guide for patients and their families. Dr. Ahlskog offers a crystal-clear, nuts-and-bolts approach to the treatment of PD, distilled from more than 30 years of experience as a clinician and researcher. His goal is to educate patients so that they can better team with their doctors to do battle with the disease, streamlining the decision-making process and enhancing their treatment. To do this, Dr. Ahlskog offers a gold mine of information: How do I know if I have PD? What kinds of tests can I take? What medications slow the progress of the disease? What if medications don't help my tremor? What kinds of movement problems may develop later? How can I cope with insomnia and daytime sleepiness, dizziness and depression, memory problems, paranoia, and delusions? Indeed, the book covers virtually every topic related to Parkinson's, from sexual impotence and skin rashes, to the role of nutrition, exercise, and physical therapy. In addition, Dr. Ahlskog discusses brain surgery (though he urges that patients only consider this as a last resort) and such experimental therapies as stem cell transplantation and gene therapy. There are also lists of support and advocacy groups and Web sites that focus on Parkinson's. The ultimate guide to symptoms and treatment, this thoroughly updated Second Edition is the first place patients should turn for reliable, easy-to-grasp information on Parkinson's disease.