Fast Facts: Epilepsy
Review by Mike Glynn, IBE President

The fourth edition of this excellent book has just been published.
Written by three world renowned experts in epileptology: Prof Martin Brodie from Glasgow (who is also Chair of the IBE/ILAE EUCARE initiative); Prof Steven Schachter from Boston; and Prof Patrick Kwan from Hong Kong (who is also involved in EUCARE), the book was first published in 1999.

It is aimed, primarily, at those working in primary care such as GPs, practice nurses and public health and epilepsy specialist nurses. However it is the type of publication that anyone, willing to take the time to study the condition of epilepsy, will gain great benefit from. Fast Facts: Epilepsy manages to pack a huge amount of information into just 138 pages and is, at this point in time, easily the most up to date book on current anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) – including every new drug on the market right up to this year.

Non-medical readers should be warned, however, that although all details given on AEDs are in respect of their generic names i.e. if you are looking for details about, say, Keppra you must look under it’s generic Levetiracetam; no brand names are included here.

Obviously, in the limited space available, detailed explanations on specific epilepsy subjects cannot be included. However, references to what the authors consider the best available literature on each subject are included at the end of each chapter, to enable further reading if this is required.

The book is laid out in an excellent, easy to follow, format using colour coding to separate different topics. There are clear tables, charts and pictures used throughout the book to illustrate different aspects of each chapter. The book is divided into ten chapters with key headings such as Diagnosis, Quality of Life etc. In addition, there is an excellent Index, a Glossary and a list of key epilepsy organizations.

I can recommend highly Fast Facts: Epilepsy, which is available from all good bookshops at the recommended retail price of €15, £10, AUS$25 or US$20. It is published in paperback (soft cover) by Health Press Ltd.
Special Offer!

IBE has negotiated a special reduced rate for those interested in purchasing. Readers of To get the book at the substantially reduced price of US$12, €9, £6 or AUS$15 please order via www.fastfacts.com and enter Coupon Code SP6 at Checkout.

ISBN: 978-1-905832-59-3
Published: August 2009