Neurobrucellosis: Clinical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Features

183 Pages·2016·9.494 MB·English

by  Mehmet Turgut, Fuad Sami Haddad, Oreste de Divitiis (eds.)

Mehmet Turgut
Fuad Sami Haddad
Oreste de Divitiis
Editors
Neurobrucellosis
Clinical, Diagnostic and
Therapeutic Features
123
Neurobrucellosis

Mehmet Turgut (cid:129) Fuad Sami Haddad
Oreste de Divitiis
Editors
Neurobrucellosis
Clinical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic
Features
Editors
Mehmet Turgut Oreste de Divitiis
Department of Neurosurgery Department of Neurosciences
Adnan Menderes University Reproduction and Odontostomatological
School of Medicine Sciences
Aydin School of Medicine and Surgery
Turkey University of Naples Federico II
Naples
Fuad Sami Haddad† Italy
Department of Surgery
American University of Beirut
Beirut
Lebanon
ISBN 978-3-319-24637-6 ISBN 978-3-319-24639-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24639-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015958921
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
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This book is dedicated to the memory of Professor Fuad Sami
Haddad, MD, FRCS (C), FACS, whose untimely death has
saddened his colleagues and the scientifi c community.
Professor Haddad, an eminent neurosurgeon in the Middle
East, founded the Lebanese Society of Neurology, Neurosurgery
and Psychiatry, the Middle East Neurosurgical Society, and the
Arab Society of Neurological Sciences. He was an
internationally recognized teacher of neurosurgery and a
leader in Lebanon during the last half century. He was highly
energetic and academically productive. He published his
experience in highly respected journals and books. We found
ourselves fortunate to work with him on our book, which is his
latest scientifi c activity. Unfortunately, he passed away just
before the publication of this book, which celebrates his
outstanding contribution to science and humanity. Now it is
clear to us that the written and published documents can be
accepted as a reliable indicator of our accomplishments on
earth.

Foreword
I t is more than a hundred years since Themistocles Zammit showed that bru-
cellosis could be transmitted to humans by milk from goats and that a simple
test could show which goats were infected. Simple public health measures
could reduce the risk of disease although these were diffi cult to apply in prac-
tice. Education of the public was diffi cult, and diagnosis of the disease has
also been a problem for doctors as the symptoms are very diffi cult to separate
from other diseases.
E ven on the small islands of Malta, it has been a long struggle to eliminate
the disease and to ensure that all goats are healthy. Humans are resistant to
change and will subvert health measures when money is involved. Unnoticed
outbreaks of the disease have occurred even when competent medical care
was available. While it is possible to repeat that victory on other islands and
communities, it is a dream which has been sadly disrupted by recent wars and
confl icts around the Mediterranean. Refugees, displacement of hundreds of
thousands into tented camps, and mass hunger and disease can mean that
brucellosis is easily spread. Although infection is common among those who
work with goats and their products, epidemics are also likely among whole
populations.
Brucellosis is also common among wildlife animals in many countries and
can be transmitted to unwary humans. This disease is widespread and will not
be easily contained. It is diffi cult to diagnose and treat, so this new book
about complications of the disease is most welcome.
Leeds, UK H. V. Wyatt
vii

Pref ace
Brucellosis is still widely spread around the world especially in the
Mediterranean basin, where it was fi rst described, as well as in Central and
South America. It has received a great deal of interest among the different
scientifi c centers and a great deal has been written about it. However, brucel-
losis of the nervous system did not receive a similar wide interest in the cur-
rent literature. This subject needs an in-depth study, reviewing all the aspects
of the involvement of the central as well as the peripheral nervous systems. A
book encompassing a review of the symptomatic as well as the therapeutic
aspects of neurobrucellosis could fulfi ll an existing gap in the bibliography
on the management of brucellosis of the nervous system.
I n this multiauthored book, we shall try to cover the entire subject in depth,
including the cranial, spinal, and peripheral systems, describing the presenta-
tions of this disease in these various areas as well as its treatment. With these
ideas in mind, we tried at best to select authorities on the subject from differ-
ent countries to obtain a global picture of the condition. The opinions of these
authors are theirs and we cannot be accountable for their ideas or fi ndings,
although we share most of their opinions. We hope that this concise treatise
may be helpful to the medical community and researchers in this fi eld at
large.
T he book is divided into 21 chapters written by 44 specialists from the
different countries of the Mediterranean basin, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It
highlights the diagnosis, the course of the disease, and the management and
prognosis in different parts of the nervous system, updating the literature on
the prevention of complications of neurobrucellosis and also by including the
authors’ personal thoughts. The editors hope this book will be useful to neu-
rosurgeons, neurologists, pediatric neurologists, radiologists, and residents.
Neurobrucellosis : C linical , D iagnostic, and Therapeutic Features would
not have been possible without the enthusiastic response from the contribu-
tors who shared their expertise. We sincerely thank them all. We would also
like to express our appreciation to Springer personnel and specifi cally Claus-
Dieter Bachem, Irmela Bohn, Sylvana Freyberg, and Antonia von Saint-Paul
for their patience and experienced advice in the production of this book.
Finally, we also thank our wives and children for their support and devotion.
Aydın , Turkey Mehmet Turgut , MD, PhD
Beirut , Lebanon Fuad Sami Haddad , MD, FACS, FRCS, ABNS
Naples , Italy Oreste de Divitiis , MD
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