Overview
Neuroparasitology and Tropical Neurology, a new volume in The Handbook of Clinical Neurology, is a comprehensive reference on parasitic infections of the human nervous system. Parasitic infections are varied. Some are resolved by the host's immune system; others may become established but unnoticed. Some cause disease and death. Today, neuroparasitoses are no longer geographically isolated. Outside of a few well understood pathologies, most parasitic infections have been neglected in the neurological literature. Most neurologists have never diagnosed them. This book details how, with the advent of neuroimaging techniques, improved diagnostic applications of molecular biology, more accurate immunodiagnosis, and minimally invasive neurosurgery, human nervous system parasitoses are diagnosed and treated, with increasing frequency. The book is divided into six sections, beginning with an introduction to the mechanisms of infection, diagnosis, and pathology of parasitic diseases. Subsequent chapters discuss protozoan diseases and also cover each major class of human-infecting helminths: nematodes (roundworms), trematodes (flukes), and cestodes (tapeworms). The final section contains chapters on other important areas of tropical clinical medicine including the neurological complications of venomous bites and tropical nutritional deficiencies. Neuroparasitology and Tropical Neurology will be of interest to neurologists, neurosurgeons and other health professionals encountering parasitic infections.
