New edition of Sturge-Weber Syndrome textbook published

Eleven years after the first edition, a new edition of the Sturge-Weber Syndrome textbook has been published by the Sturge-Weber Foundation in New Jersey. Co-author E. Steve Roach, MD, is chief of Neurology and vice-chair of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

While still a perplexing syndrome, much has been learned about diagnosing Sturge-Weber Sndrome, how it progresses and how best to treat patients. According to Harvey B. Sarnat, M.S., M.D., F.R.C.P.C., Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and Alberta Children's Hospital in Canada, this new book "is comprehensive in its scope and contains a wealth of both classical and recent references that provide a valuable and time-saving resource for readers who wish to further pursue a particular aspect." Dr. Sarnat also notes that the textbook's authors are distinguished clinical pediatric neurologists who have written a book that "can serve as a resource to any physician managing patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome."

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health, Sturge-Weber syndrome is a neurological disorder indicated at birth by seizures accompanied by a large port-wine stain birthmark on the forehead and upper eyelid of one side of the face. Sturge-Weber syndrome is also accompanied by the loss of nerve cells and calcification of tissue in the cerebral cortex of the brain on the same side of the body as the birthmark. Neurological symptoms include seizures that begin in infancy and may worsen with age. Convulsions usually happen on the side of the body opposite the birthmark and vary in severity. There may be muscle weakness on the same side. Some children will have developmental delays and mental retardation; most will have glaucoma (increased pressure within the eye) at birth or developing later. The increased pressure within the eye can cause the eyeball to enlarge and bulge out of its socket.

Dr. Roach, also a Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, received his medical degree at the University of Tennessee, and completed his residencies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He came to Nationwide Children's Hospital in 2006 with research interests including pediatric stroke and genetic neurological disorders. Dr. Roach wrote the first textbook on cerebrovascular disorders in children and has written or co-authored five other books, along with more than 200 articles and book chapters on stroke and genetic disorders. He was awarded the 2002 Manuel Gomez Award by the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance in Bethesda, Maryland, for his work to improve understanding of tuberous sclerosis, a genetic neurological disorder.