Neurological Disorders

One major part of neuroscience is neurology, a medical discipline that deals with disorders of the nervous system. This is a very broad field that deals with over six hundred different diseases. Rather than boring you, though, with a list of all six hundred of these, a better idea would seem to be a more simple explanation of some of the more major and common neurological disorders:

• Multiple sclerosis occurs when damage to neurons' myelin sheaths causes interference with the messages the neurons are supposed to be passing along. When this happens, the most common symptoms are visual disturbances, physical weakness, trouble with coordination and balance, problems with thinking and memory and feelings such as numbness and prickling. At present the cause of this neuron damage is unknown and there is no cure, although there is treatment available to help with the symptoms.
• Alzheimer's disease is a common form of dementia among older people. There is currently no cure and treatments for this disease are relatively limited and ineffective. This means that people with Alzheimer's invariably develop progressively worse memories that eventually cause them to forget family members and even leave them incapable of performing normal daily activities such as combing their hair or brushing their teeth. People in the later stages of the disease can become anxious or aggressive and will eventually require total care.
• Parkinson's disease occurs when the neurons responsible for producing dopamine fail to do this. This lack of dopamine leads to trembling and stiffness throughout the body, slow movement and poor balance and coordination. This disease can even indirectly lead to further problems as the symptoms themselves can cause depression and trouble sleeping, chewing, swallowing and speaking. Fortunately, although there is no cure, treatments are often very effective at taking care of the symptoms.
• Epilepsy takes place when clusters of neurons send out the wrong signals, leading to recurring seizures. Epilepsy can be caused by illnesses, brain injuries and abnormal brain development. No cure has been found for this disease, but treatments have proven effective at controlling the seizures.
• Brain tumors can be either malignant or benign, meaning they can occur with or without cancer cells. Unfortunately, no one is quite sure what causes either form of tumor. What is certain though is the fact both kinds of brain tumors most often result in headaches, nausea, vomiting, changes in the victims' abilities to talk, hear or see, problems with balance, walking, thinking or memory, muscle jerking or twitching and numbness or a tingling feeling in the limbs.
• Strokes result from a stop in blood flow to the brain, which is most often caused by a blood clot or break in a blood vessel. Symptoms of a stroke appear suddenly, and they can do very serious damage to a person unless help is received immediately. Strokes can be recognized by weakness or numbness in one side of the face or limbs, confusion, trouble speaking, understanding speech, seeing or walking, problems with balance or coordination, dizziness and severe headaches. There is also a more minor form of a stroke, known as transient ischemic attack, that is caused by a brief interruption in the flow of blood to the brain.
• In spinal cord injuries, there are two possible outcomes which are entirely dependent on the severity of the damage caused to the spinal cord. If the damage wasn't very sever, then there will only be sensations or movement problems below the site of the original injury, but more severe damage prevents the spine from relaying information below the point of this injury, resulting in paralyzation below the injury. However, swift treatment can reduce the long-term effects of spinal cord injuries.
• Concussions are the most minor form of brain injury. They are short losses of normal brain functions and can cause head or neck pain, nausea, ringing in the ears, dizziness, exhaustion, feeling dazed and a feeling that victims aren't themselves. In most cases, these conditions are light enough to not require medical attention.
• Brain aneurysms result from abnormal bulges in the walls of arteries in the brain. Symptoms often don't develop until the bulge becomes very large, leaks blood or ruptures. Regardless of the cause, brain aneurysms can cause droopy eyelids, double vision or other vision changes, pain above or behind the eyes, dilated pupils and numbness or weakness on one side of the body, but a ruptured artery can also lead to sudden, severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, loss of consciousness and signs of a stroke. Because of this variation in symptoms, treatments also depend on the size and location of the bulge and whether it has become infected or ruptured.

All of the above information was taken from Medline Plus and MedicineNet.com.