Drs. Shilpa Chitnis and Richard Dewey co-author movement disorders handbook
By Julie Kirchem, Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics
DALLAS- Aug. 22, 2011 - Drs. Shilpa Chitnis and Richard Dewey of UT Southwestern’s Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics have co-authored a new handbook on movement disorders written with clinicians in mind. Simply titled, Movement Disorders, the handbook is part of the Oxford American Neurology Library. It covers current approaches and new developments in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of movement disorders.
“Although it is a handbook format, it has a lot of detail and it’s very current, “ said Dr. Chitnis.
Drs. Dewey and Chitnis selected internationally known movement disorders experts who authored the content related to their specialties. It took two years to gather and edit the contributions. The chapters are laid out in a format designed to make the handbook easy to browse in a clinical setting.
“It walks you through what to look for, what are the red flags, what are the criteria, what is the diagnosis.” said Dr. Chitnis.
The handbook is arranged by phenomenology type so that if a clinician is seeing a patient with a particular movement disorder, he or she can quickly turn to that chapter and find all the information they need to work up the patient.
“This is the kind of tool that can make any neurologist comfortable managing a movement disorder at least for the initial visit,” said Dr. Dewey. “ It will prepare them with everything they need to know for the practical clinical management of the case.”
The 240-page handbook is made up of short chapters with bulleted lists and other features such as tables that make it easy to skim and quickly find the needed information such as imaging studies used in diagnosis, drug therapies, and non-pharmacological treatments.
Besides clinicians, the handbook can be a valuable resource for movement disorders fellows, residents, and general neurologists.
Movement Disorders is available on Amazon.com.