This Second Edition reverses the usual growth curve by reducing the number of chapters from 50 to 44, mainly by amalgamating the coverage of infectious diseases. The book has been completely reorganized so that chapters are now grouped by type of disorder. In a thorough updating, many chapters have been rewritten by different authors and two new chapters on medico-legal aspects and economic outcomes research have been added. As before, the book addresses the important clinical questions: what is the natural history of the disorder and how does medical or surgical treatment alter the outcome? The authors provide clinical prediction reules and a detailed critical review of prognositic factors. Patients and their families are increasingly demanding information on the prognosis of disease, and there is no better reference source for neurologists and neurosurgeons to use on a daily basis than this volume.