Headaches and Migraines in Childhood (Clinics in Developmental Medicine (Mac Keith Press))

Population surveys tell us that the headache is the most common indisposition of humankind. While most adults are able to take the problem instride, recurring headache or migraine in childhood can carry more serious implications. Despite this, there has been no major study of the subject for over twenty years. Professor Barlow's book admirably fills this gap. The book starts with a section on classification and epidemiology, then deals withgenetics, pathogenesis, and precipitation factors of attacks. There is a thorough chapter on the expression of childhood migraine, and the periodic syndrome is fully defined and discussed. Another major section deals with complex and complicated syndromes and other serious problems such as seizure, stroke and syncope. There is a useful chapter on the treatment of juvenile migraine, and the final two chapters deal with the causes, evaluation, and investigation of symptomatic headache. Dr Barlow illustrates his text with over fifty detailed case histories of his own patients, spanning over twenty years of practice.