Despite growing awareness in the psychiatric community of the multifaceted medical needs of the severely mentally ill, statistics show that as much as 60% of all schizophrenia patients die prematurely from nonpsychiatric medical conditions - in part because many physicians have not yet recognized how to properly treat common diseases and illnesses within this complex patient population. Medical Illness and Schizophrenia, Second Edition, is the only clinical guide to focus exclusively on the treatment of common medical comorbidities among patients with schizophrenia. Like its best-selling predecessor, the book compiles the latest research and clinical information on integrating medical and psychiatric care for the schizophrenia patient.

Twenty-eight physicians and psychiatrists, including editors Jonathan M. Meyer, M.D., and Henry A. Nasrallah, M.D., lend their expertise to this new, expanded edition. In fifteen chapters, this volume covers a wide range of common medical problems - from metabolic and heart conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, obesity and diabetes, to substance abuse and smoking. Each chapter concludes with ""Key Clinical Points"" that summarize important concepts and ensure reader retention. Additionally, the second edition includes new chapters that touch on some of the most complex clinical issues in the field of schizophrenia treatment today: Recent trends in the integration of medical and mental healthcare ; Behavioral treatments for weight loss in persons with schizophrenia; Treatment of sexual dysfunction among persons treated for schizophrenia; Health outcomes of schizophrenia treatment in children and adolescents; Health outcomes of schizophrenia treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding

As the only clinical text of its kind, Medical Illness and Schizophrenia, Second Edition, is an invaluable resource for psychiatrists, nurses, healthcare professionals, and psychiatric and clinical residents. The goal of this text has always been to help clinicians recognize schizophrenia as both a brain disorder and a systemic disease with multiple manifestations that go beyond the obvious psychiatric symptoms - and thus take a broader approach to treatment of schizophrenia. This new edition is a comprehensive, practical manual that serves as a reference for the medical management of seriously mentally ill patients across the age spectrum in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

I would highly recommend this book to all physicians, nurses, and trainees who treat patients with schizophrenia, either in the psychiatric or the primary care setting. In addition to its value as a continuing education resource, this volume is a great quick reference when dealing with the myriad medical problems our patients face every day.

Every trainee and clinician should have access to this volume. I am glad that our field now has a book called, "Medical Illness and Schizophrenia." The existence of this book signifies unmistakably that "mens sana in corpore sano" is an appropriate guiding principle for any healthcare professional who is involved in the care of patients with schizophrenia. Two "thumbs-up" from me for this book.

Jonathan M. Meyer, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and Staff Psychiatrist at the San Diego VA Medical Center in La Jolla, California.

Henry A. Nasrallah, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio.