03:39 PM EST on Friday, December 17, 2004

Reported by: Kathryn Barrett

Most days, neurologist Dr. Gil Snider is pouring over scans of the brain. He studies the brains of patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological disorders.

In his spare time, he writes novels.

His first, titled Brain Warp, is about a plot to poison the President of the Ukraine. It’s a bit uncanny, considering that a Ukrainian presidential candidate is recovering after being poisoned.

Dr. Snider's Web site

"When I heard about the poisoning, I realized how closely my book was mirroring reality," he said.

Dr. Snider’s villain didn’t use dioxin, the chemical used against opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.

"I used a combination of drugs that induces confusion to make him look like he had Alzheimer's disease then goes on to cause convulsions and then cardiac arrest that can't be detected," he explained.

Dr. Snider called on his Ukrainian background and learned more about the Ukraine while researching the book than he ever did from his Ukrainian born father.

He was familiar with Little Ukraine in Greenwich Village, where he did his internship.

So, why settle on the Ukraine as setting for a medical thriller? He says he needed a country that was in turmoil.

The book so closely mirrors real life that you wonder whether the CIA or Ukrainian secret police have spoken to Dr. Snider.

"No, not yet, not yet. But if they want to buy my book and read it, I'll be glad to discuss it with them!"