The Right Therapy for Neurological Disorders

Book excerpt: Most neurological disorders are chronic and aging-related. With the increase of life expectancy their incidence and prevalence will grow in the decades to come, which in turn will increase the load on medical and social systems worldwide. There is thus a desperate need for successful preventive and therapeutic measures based on randomized clinical trials (RTCs) conducted by independent organizations. This book provides a compendium relating most of the principles of reliable RTCs to specific neurological diseases. Contributed by specialized neurologists, the articles touch on important aspects of RCTs with a clear critical approach, highlighting their limitations as well as giving recommendations for their planning and conducting to address the variable genotypic and phenotypic aspects of neurological conditions. Consideration is also given to combining the clinical impact of the study results with patients’ values and the interests of pharmaceutical companies. Neurologists involved in clinical trials will certainly benefit from this book, which should become a basic text for all neurological courses dealing with evidence-based neurology.