Book Review: Epilepsy Simplified

Tfm Publishing Limited 2011

Castle Hills Barns, Harley, Nr
Shewsbury

United Kingdom

By: John Paul Leach, M.D. and Rebecca O’Dwyer, M.D.

Drs. Leach and O’Dwyer provide an excellent practical guide on the common issues faced by individuals with epilepsy as well as the healthcare professionals that help to manage this condition. This well conceived book contains all that is necessary for any individual with epilepsy who wishes to seek more information about chronic seizures to help them navigate through a very complex neurological condition.

The book is intended to clarify important concepts in epilepsy including causes, prognosis and therapies that are available throughout Europe and the United States. The book’s audience is intended for healthcare professionals as well as individuals and patients with epilepsy in order to empower them to seek better management options when they have difficulties with either seizures themselves or common co-morbidities such as depression.

The book is divided into 14 chapters that survey all facets of epilepsy including definitions; causes; commonly mistaken conditions for epilepsy; types of seizures;
diagnosing epilepsy; drugs for epilepsy; when to stop medications; when to consider more serious and advanced options such as more than one drug, surgery; epilepsy in both kids and older adults; and common questions that individuals often ask their physician.

There are many knowledge exercises that are scattered throughout the book, which will be quite helpful to both physician and patient alike. Several tables are quite useful, either for rounds in a medical institution or as a reference guide to bring to one’ medical appointment to help discussion with your physician.

In sum, the book Epilepsy Simplified actually lives up to its title in that a complex topic such as epilepsy is translated into bite-size chewable nuggets of information that I believe will be helpful to most individuals who wish to seek more information about this condition. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for the healthcare professional as well as individuals with epilepsy or their caretakers who seek more information on this condition.

Buy this book on Amazon.com

Joseph Sirven, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, epilepsy.com 
Last Reviewed: 2/15/11