Multiple sclerosis is the most common neurological cause of debilitation in young people; it affects approximately 85,000 people in the UK, 400,000 people in the US and approximately 2.5 million people worldwide. The disease commonly manifests in the second or third decade of life, and in most cases it leads to progressive disability, which explains its enormous impact on the economy (estimated at around L1.4 billion annually). The disease is incurable and the precise causes are still unknown. Part of the Oxford Neurology Library series, this practical pocketbook summarises the latest understanding of what might cause the disease, the methods of diagnosis and assessment, and current management techniques. The book also includes chapters on variants of multiple sclerosis, on childhood-onset disease and future therapies.

This pocketbook will serve as an invaluable reference for trainee neurologists, consultants needing rapid access to core facts, interested general practitioners and specialist MS nurses.

About the Author:
Neil Scolding, Burden Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Consultant Neurologist, University of Bristol, UK, Alastair Wilkins, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Neurology, University of Bristol; Honorary Consultant Neurologist, North Bristol NHS Trust, UK

Neil Scolding qualified in medicine in Cardiff in 1982, and then completed a PhD in 1989, also in Cardiff. He trained in neurology in Cardiff, in Cambridge, and at the National Hospital for Neurological Diseases in London, then was a Consultant Senior Lecturer in Neurology at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge in 1996. In 1999 he moved to Bristol as the foundation chair-holder in the Burden Professorship of Clinical Neurosciences. He has established a research team in Bristol at Frenchay Hospital whose main focus of interest continues to be multiple sclerosis - more specifically, developing and testing adult stem cell therapy for MS.

Dr Alastair Wilkins is Senior Lecturer in Neurology, University of Bristol and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. He trained in medicine at Cambridge University, where he also did a PhD concerned with mechanisms of axon degeneration in multiple sclerosis. His neurology training was in Norwich, Cambridge and the National Hospital for Neurology, Queen Square, London. He has done post-doctoral research at University of Cambridge and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. His research interests include understanding disease mechanisms in progressive multiple sclerosis and design of new therapies for this stage of the disease.