Description
Demos Neurologic Disease In Women by Peter W Kaplan
Although there appears to be a general understanding that the human brain functions similarly in women and in men, an increasing body of knowledge indicates that neuronal connectivity, recruitment, and disease patterns exhibit gender differences. There are clear gender differences in genetic expression, physiologic function, metabolism, hormonal makeup, and psychosocial profile, which often modify the clinical expression of neurologic and other diseases. In addition, ethnic, cultural, and economic factors are frequently overlooked in dealing with health problems of women, even though they undoubtedly have a strong influence on the clinical course of the illness. The second edition of "Neurologic Disease in Women", the only text to specifically cover this important topic, will help physicians and other medical personnel seeking information relevant to clinical care. Sections address general anatomic, hormonal, epidemiologic, and drug aspects of women's health; neurologic conditions that arise during childhood, pregnancy, adulthood, and old age in females; and particular neurologic conditions that present differently or predominantly in females. There have been important advances in several areas prompting new chapters, new approaches and additional information provided in chapters on hormonal effects in women and the use of HRT; the adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs on hormonal homeostasis, weight and bone health; and cardiovascular diseases in women. New chapters include one on reproductive and metabolic disorders with AED use, and on movement disorders. We now have many clinical studies demonstrating gender differences in disease prevalence, clinical features, and response to treatment, yet many tests propose similar management and medication guidelines for both sexes. Furthermore, for various reasons, drug trials have often avoided including women and children, and in doing so have generated data that fail to enlighten us on important medical issues involving these populations. Of particular concern is the situation of the pregnant woman, where the treating physician is often uncertain about how to proceed and is in need of information regarding conditions and diseases and their treatment as, for example, in migraine, epilepsy, depression, autoimmune disease, and other neurologic disorders. Finally, there is the elderly woman whose longer life expectancy now renders her more vulnerable to dementia and to many other medical problems that may give rise to a condition of physical and/or mental "frailty." The aging of this population with its increasing instability of gait, multiple falls, and reliance on supportive care intensifies the need for special attention. Much new data have appeared on the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in post-menopausal women.