Plenum Publishing Co.,N.Y.

As the pastPresident ofthe Israel Society forAutism, it gives me great pleasure to c- gratulate Professor Schopler and his colleagues on the publication of their new book concerning the relationship between scientific research and treatment. When we in Israel began our specifically structured education program for young children with autism, our work was based on slim to scarceknow-how andinformation, and with no experience whatsoever. Whatever information we could gather was mostly from psychological educational centers in the U.S. One of the most important and significant connections was established between the TEACCH program of North Carolina, led and conducted by the two important scholars, Professor Eric Schopler and Professor Lee Marcus, and our Israel Society for Autism. During our many encounters, seminars, and conferences, we profited enormously from all their accumulated expertise and scientific research, while perhaps it was also an important experience for them to see how a young society with very limited means was eventually shaping its educational program and arriving at some excellent results. We, ofcourse, have the highest esteem for Governor Hunt who has been following this program with so much attention and support, and we still remember his visit to Israel with distinguished representatives of the TEACCH Program. I wish the new book every success. I know it will be an enormous contribution to all those who must cope with a difficult and painful issue-autism-for whom there is no end to the need for research and continuously improving methods of care and education.

Central nervous system (CNS) infections continue to pose a serious problem in health care even with improved knowledge and treatment. Despite the introduction of newer antimicrobial agents and diagnostic techniques, the morbidity and mortality associated with CNS infections remain high. The morbidity associated with CNS infections may be even more important than the death rate especially in developing countries as neurological sequelae may deprive the survivors of intellect and physical ability, demeaning the quality of life and burdening health resources and social services. MR imaging is an important integral part of the protocol for the management of CNS infections and MR spectroscopy is increasingly being utilized in its management. This work is an attempt to provide a comprehensive review of imaging and spectroscopy of the commonly encountered CNS infections in the clinical practice in developing and developed countries. The first chapter deals with basic physical principles of MR imaging and spectroscopy that will help beginners to understand the technical terms used in subsequent chapters. The remaining 10 chapters deal with clinical, pathological, MR imaging and spectroscopy features and their applications in CNS infections. This will help in giving a comprehensive understanding to readers with a background in clinical, radiological, basic MRI, and neurological sciences. The T2 hypointense lesions are a real diagnostic dilemma especially in developing countries for which an algorithm has been suggested in the concluding chapter.