Brain and Nervous System

Brain and Nervous System

A healthy brain and nervous system regulate your body functions so you can have full command over your senses, muscles, and intelligence. Despite the amazing capacities of the human brain and nerves, they are vulnerable to damage just like every other part of our bodies. Strokes, concussions, Alzheimers and many other brain problems affect about 50 million Americans. The multitude of brain injuries and illnesses strike different people based on the risk factors of their genetics, age and lifestyle. The severity of impairment and the availability of treatment vary widely. Knowledge of brain and nerve health has advanced rapidly in recent decades. Many new treatments and medicines are available to treat various disorders. Still, the best thing for your brain is to keep it physically and mentally active while eating nutritious food and getting plenty of social interaction.

Recently Answered

  • QWhat is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)?
    1 Answer
    A
    Riverside Center for Neurosciences
    A answered

    Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. It affects about one person in a million, per year, worldwide; in the United States there are about 200 cases per year. CJD usually appears in later life and runs a rapid course. Typically, onset of symptoms occurs about age 60, and about 90 percent of patients die within one year. In the early stages of disease, patients may have failing memory, behavioral changes, lack of coordination, and visual disturbances. As the illness progresses, mental deterioration becomes pronounced and involuntary movements, blindness, weakness of extremities, and coma may occur.

    There are three major categories of CJD:

    In sporadic CJD, the disease appears even though the person has no known risk factors for the disease. This is by far the most common type of CJD and accounts for at least 85 percent of cases.In hereditary CJD, the person has a family history of the disease and/or tests positive for a genetic mutation associated with CJD. About five to ten percent of cases of CJD in the United States are hereditary.In acquired CJD, the disease is transmitted by exposure to brain or nervous system tissue, usually through certain medical procedures. There is no evidence that CJD is contagious through casual contact with a CJD patient. Since CJD was first described in 1920, fewer than one percent of cases have been acquired CJD.

    CJD belongs to a family of human and animal diseases known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Spongiform refers to the characteristic appearance of infected brains, which become filled with holes until they resemble sponges under a microscope. CJD is the most common of the known human TSEs.

    This answer is based on source information from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.

  • QAre there new developments for spasmodic torticollis?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Christopher M. Garvey, MD - Summit, WI - Ear, Nose & Throat (Otolaryngology)
    A Ear, Nose & Throat (Otolaryngology), answered on behalf of
    Botox is a very effective treatment for spasmodic torticollis. Botox is a medicine that is injected into the involved neck muscle(s) causing paralysis of that muscle. The paralysis lasts 3-6 months and prevents spasm.
  • QAre children affected by thoracic outlet syndrome?
    1 Answer
    A
    Good Samaritan Hospital
    A answered

    Thoracic outlet syndrome is not commonly found in children and young adults under 20 years of age. Of the thoracic outlet syndrome cases found in children, vascular is the most common type. Children diagnosed with this disorder are usually treated with non-surgical methods, though some require surgery to remove the cervical rib causing compression.

  • QHow does aphasia affect language skills?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. John H. Growdon, MD - Boston, MA - Neurology
    A , Neurology, answered
    Aphasia describes an impairment in using and understanding language. Because speaking, writing, reading, and understanding speech involve different areas of the brain and different nerve networks, aphasia can be uneven, with some skills retained longer than others. For example, a person may be able to recognize written words flawlessly and yet fail to comprehend their meanings.

    Typically, aphasia begins with word-finding difficulties. Unable to think of the right words, a person may try to cover up with long-winded descriptions that fail to reach the point, or he or she may angrily refuse to discuss the matter further. Substituting a similar-sounding word ("wrong" instead of "ring") or a related word ("read" instead of "book") is common. The person may ramble, stringing phrases together without expressing any real thought, or may forget all but a few words (which he or she may repeat over and over).
  • QDoes syringomyelia affect children differently than adults?
    1 Answer
    A
    Good Samaritan Hospital
    A answered

    In about 50% of known cases of syringomyelia, a child may be born with a spinal cyst, or syrinx. Because syringomyelia usually takes time to progress, symptoms are often not seen until adolescence. The symptoms of syringomyelia affect people differently regardless of age, depending on where the cysts have formed and how progressed they are.

  • QCan syringomyelia be prevented?
    1 Answer
    A
    Good Samaritan Hospital
    A answered

    Because the causes of syringomyelia are still not entirely understood, it is difficult to know whether this disorder can be prevented. Researchers are currently working to understand the genetic factors that lead to a Chiari malformation, a type of brain abnormality that seems to be the most common cause of syringomyelia. Scientists are also studying how spinal cysts, or syrinxes, form. This will help them detect syringomyelia at its earliest stages and prevent permanent spinal and nerve damage.

  • QHow is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) treated?
    1 Answer
    A
    Good Samaritan Hospital
    A answered

    There is no treatment that can cure or control Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Researchers have tested many drugs, including amantadine, steroids, interferon, acyclovir, antiviral agents, and antibiotics. Studies of a variety of other drugs are now in progress. However, so far none of these treatments has shown any consistent benefit in humans.

    Current treatment for CJD is aimed at alleviating symptoms and making the patient as comfortable as possible. Opiates can help relieve pain if it occurs, and clonazepam and sodium valproate may help relieve myoclonus. During the later stages of the disease, changing the person's position frequently can keep him or her comfortable and prevent bedsores. A catheter can be used to drain urine if the patient cannot control bladder function, and intravenous fluids and artificial feeding also may be used.

    This answer is based on source information from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

  • QDoes an essential tremor affect children differently than adults?
    1 Answer
    A
    Good Samaritan Hospital
    A answered

    Essential tremors appear mainly in people over the age of 65, although it can appear in teenagers. If your parent has ET, you have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the gene that causes ET. This does not, however, mean that you will develop a tremor. Children who have ET may feel embarrassed and frightened. They need extra reassurance and understanding from parents, teachers, and coaches.

  • QAre there different types of aphasia?
    1 Answer
    A
    Dr. Irene A. Semenov, DO - Evanston, IL - Neurology
    A Neurology, answered on behalf of
    Aphasia is a disorder of language and speech, which affects both written and spoken language. Although there are multiple types of aphasia, most commonly there three types: motor aphasia, which involves inability to speak clearly, but the comprehension is preserved, sensory aphasia, in which comprehension is abnormal, but the ability to verbalize is preserved, and global aphasia, in which both the ability to verbalize and to understand spoken and written language are impaired.nderstand spoken and written language are impaired. 
  • QHow is Tourette syndrome (TS) diagnosed?
    3 Answers
    A
    NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
    A answered

    Only a doctor can diagnose tic disorders and Tourette's syndrome. Tourette syndrome (TS) usually appears between the ages of 5 and 18 with mild tics of the face, head, or arms. Over time, the tics can become more involved, frequent, and disruptive. In about a third of people diagnosed in childhood symptoms, the symptoms spontaneously resolve as they reach adulthood. In another a third of patients, symptoms are substantially reduced during adulthood; the remainder of patients have symptoms throughout adulthood. Patients with tic disorders frequently have associated psychiatric symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, anxiety, and phobias.

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