Pharmacology in Rehabilitation.

The use of therapeutic drugs by a patient can often have profound effects on the outcome of a rehabilitation program. Despite this, it would appear that the principles of pharmacology in rehabilitation are scarcely represented in the physical and occupational therapy literature and in many curricula. The author has helped to fill this void by writing a compehensive text at a level commensurate with the educational and clinical backgrounds of physical and occupational therapists.

The purposes of this text are to provide a basic text in pharmacology for physical and occupational therapy students and also to provide a reference source for practicing clinicians. The text's organization consists initially of an introductory section in which the author defines and discusses the critical principles of clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. This section greatly facilitates the reader's understanding of subsequent sections. The second section covers the pharmacology of the central nervous system (CNS) and includes a brief review of the anatomy and physiology of the CNS. This is followed by a discussion of the various clinical characteristics of CNS disorders and their current drug therapies. In the subsequent sections the author discusses the use of drugs to treat problems of skeletal muscle, pain anf inflammation, rheumatoid disease, autonomic and cardiovascular dysfunction, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, and disorders of the endocrine system. He also discusses using drugs to treat neoplastic disorders and infectious diseases.

The author provides readers with the fundamental background in cellular biology and biochemistry that is needed to understand the principles of pharmacology. He presents these concepts in a clear and logical fashion. The many case studies, the system of appendixes, and the glossary are useful adjuncts to the text.

This text presents the principles of pharmacology as they are related to the practice of physical and occupational therapy. The book is not designed to be used as a drug index (eg, like the Physicians's Desk Reference). This text, together with its companion index, will have an important place in the libraries of practicing physical and occupational therapists and entry-level and graduate-level students.