Bookshop: Motor Neurone Disease

If you buy from the Bookshop at St Christopher's, you are donating to our work.

The following books are available from the St Christopher's bookshop. For further information and details please contact the Librarian, Denise Brady, St Christopher's Hospice, tel 020 8768 4660.

Holden T, Henke E

Motor neurone disease – patients’ accounts of their illness

Nursing Times 1980, June 12, p1035-1036 and BMJ 1968 v4
p765-766 1980                                                             
£0.50                                                               

In the early days at St Christopher’s, some MND patients spent the last section of their lives as patients there. These are two short personal accounts of advanced MND by patients who were in the hospice for some time. Both provide advice to health professionals on how best to help patients with this condition, in particular how impaired speech can be dealt with. They also describe difficulties such as tiredness and boredom - and how they personally cope with them.  (A list of other personal accounts of MND is available by contacting the librarian – see below)

O'Brien T, Kelly M et al

Motor neurone disease: a hospice perspective

BMJ 1992 v304 p471-3 1992
£0.20

This article is based on a study of retrospective case notes of MND patients at St Christopher's Hospice. It outlines key issues in symptom control, and in particular states that no MND patient died due to choking. 

Oliver D Borasio GD et al

Palliative care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 2^nd edition

Oxford University Press 2006
£42.95

ALS is more commonly known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in the UK. This authoritative textbook is edited by doctors who have considerable long-term expertise in looking after MND patients in the UK (a number of articles have been written by current staff at St Christopher's Hospice). The books covers the control of symptoms by doctors as well as other members of a multidisciplinary health team. It also discusses psychosocial care and the issue of advance directives. Models of care in the UK, USA, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa are discussed. Personal accounts of the disease and useful websites for patients are provided. A list of suppliers of equipment for care - both in the UK and USA – is included.

Oliver D

Motor neurone disease - a family affair. New edition

Sheldon Press, 1995
£8.99

David Oliver is an expert on MND who has worked in UK hospices for many years. This is an excellent text for any individual who has MND, for families or carers of MND patients and for any lay person who wants to know more about how this illness affects those who have it.