Hyponatremia and 40 Years of Controversy
Looking Back and Moving Forward
- 1st Edition - January 1, 2026
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Author: Richard H. Sterns
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 4 1 6 1 0 - 1
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 4 1 6 1 1 - 8
Hyponatremia and 40 Years of Controversy: Charting New Frontiers provides an exhaustive examination of the prolonged and contentious debate surrounding the treatment protoc… Read more
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Hyponatremia and 40 Years of Controversy: Charting New Frontiers provides an exhaustive examination of the prolonged and contentious debate surrounding the treatment protocols for hyponatremia—a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of sodium in the blood, which can result in severe neurological damage. This book is indispensable for medical trainees, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, offering a thorough understanding of the condition's complexities and historical context. By documenting the evolution of this debate over the past four decades, it sheds light on key milestones, challenges, and turning points that have shaped current clinical practices. The text is thoughtfully organized into three sections: Part One: Salt, Science, Serendipity, and Strife brings readers into the historical backdrop with a mix of memoir and scientific analysis. It provides an in-depth look at how initial misunderstandings led to revised treatment guidelines based on emerging evidence. Part Two: A Grain of Salt revisits the controversy with a critical eye, unpacking new research that challenges existing guidelines and advocating for nuanced clinical decisions. Finally, Part Three: A Clinician’s Guide to Hyponatremia Management offers practical tools and case studies to help practitioners manage this complex condition amidst ongoing scientific debate. Comprehensive yet accessible, the book covers topics such as the brain’s response to osmotic stress, the implications of rapid sodium correction, and the intricate balance required in therapeutic interventions. It challenges established dogmas, presents groundbreaking new evidence, and highlights future directions for hyponatremia management, integrating the latest research findings into clinical practice. Hyponatremia and 40 Years of Controversy: Charting New Frontiers is a vital resource for anyone involved in neurology, nephrology, internal medicine, critical care, endocrinology, or clinical medicine. Whether you are a medical trainee seeking to understand the nuances of this medical controversy, a seasoned practitioner aiming to refine your treatment strategies, or a researcher interested in the historical and scientific facets of hyponatremia, this book equips you with the knowledge and tools necessary to enhance patient care and contribute to informed clinical practice. By offering historical insights, scientific rigor, and practical guidance, this book promises to enhance your decision-making and ultimately improve patient care outcomes in the field of hyponatremia management.
- Provides detailed yet accessible scientific explanations, making complex medical concepts understandable to non-scientific readers, ensuring that all audiences can grasp the core issues underpinning the controversy
- Offers in-depth historical background covering the socio-economic, cultural, and political factors that have influenced and sustained the controversy, allowing readers to understand why this issue continues to persist
- Combines perspectives from multiple disciplines, including medicine, history, sociology, and ethics, and featuring insights from leading experts, offering a comprehensive and authoritative view of the controversy
Medical students and residents, nephrologists, endocrinologists, neurologists, intensivists, hospitalists
PART ONE: Salt, Science, Serendipity, and Strife Introduction to Part One: Memoir of an Accidental Expert
1. From central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) to osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS): what’s in a name?
2. What’s rapid correction?
3. Osmotic stress and demyelination: what’s the connection?
4. Hyponatremic Encephalopathy: Age, Sex, Hormones and Oxygen
5. Speed Limits and How to Obey Them
PART TWO: A Grain of Salt Introduction to Part Two: Turning points Role reversal: an expert challenged
6. New Evidence: Rare or just not well done?
7. The Court’s in Session
8. Primum non nocere
PART THREE: A Clinician’s Guide to Hyponatremia Management
9. A toolbox for managing hyponatremia
10. Case studies
11. Nutrition, fluid intake, lifestyle and hyponatremia
12. Beyond the controversy: the future of hyponatremia management
1. From central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) to osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS): what’s in a name?
2. What’s rapid correction?
3. Osmotic stress and demyelination: what’s the connection?
4. Hyponatremic Encephalopathy: Age, Sex, Hormones and Oxygen
5. Speed Limits and How to Obey Them
PART TWO: A Grain of Salt Introduction to Part Two: Turning points Role reversal: an expert challenged
6. New Evidence: Rare or just not well done?
7. The Court’s in Session
8. Primum non nocere
PART THREE: A Clinician’s Guide to Hyponatremia Management
9. A toolbox for managing hyponatremia
10. Case studies
11. Nutrition, fluid intake, lifestyle and hyponatremia
12. Beyond the controversy: the future of hyponatremia management
- Edition: 1
- Published: January 1, 2026
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Language: English
RS
Richard H. Sterns
Richard H. Sterns is a nephrologist, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, a former Chief of Medicine at Rochester General Hospital, and an Editor-in-Chief for Fluid and Electrolytes for UpToDate. Dr. Sterns is a graduate of Stanford University who completed his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania; internal medicine training at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center and Albert Einstein School of Medicine; and his nephrology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sterns introduced the term “Osmotic Demyelination Syndrome” (a serious neurological complication caused by overly rapid correction of hyponatremia) in 1986 and has published extensively on the subject of hyponatremia.
Affiliations and expertise
Rochester General Hospital, USA