Migraine Headache/Migraine is a genetically influenced complex disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea and light and sound sensitivity. This activity reviews the evaluation and treatment of migraines and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in evaluating and treating patients with this condition. Migraine is a … [Read more…]
What Is Headache?/Headache or head pain sometimes can be difficult to describe, but some common symptoms include throbbing, squeezing, constant, unrelenting, or intermittent. The location may be in one part of the face or skull or may be generalized involving the whole head. The head is one of the most common sites of pain in … [Read more…]
Huntington’s disease (HD), a neurodegenerative autosomal dominant disorder, is characterized by involuntary choreatic movements with cognitive and behavioral disturbances. It occurs as a result of cytosine, adenine, and guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats on the short arm of chromosome 4p16.3 in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. This mutation leads to an abnormally long expansion of the polyglutamine … [Read more…]
Lewy Body Dementia/It is a progressive degenerative brain disorder characterized by cognitive decline involving memory and at least 1 of the other domains, including personality, praxis, abstract thinking, language, executive functioning, complex attention, social and visuospatial skills,[rx] dementia, psychosis, and features of parkinsonism. Symptoms fluctuate with time and vary among different individuals. Diagnosis of LBD requires … [Read more…]
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. As nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain weaken or are damaged or die, people may begin to notice problems with movement, tremor, stiffness in the limbs or the trunk of the body, or impaired balance. As these symptoms … [Read more…]
What is Stroke?/ A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or reduced, preventing brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells begin to die in minutes. A stroke is a medical emergency, and prompt treatment is crucial. A stroke is a brain attack—a sudden interruption of continuous blood flow to … [Read more…]
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from a blow, bump, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. This activity reviews the evaluation and treatment of brain trauma and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in improving care for patients with this condition. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) … [Read more…]
Sleep Disorders/Sleeping is an important part of your daily routine—you spend about one-third of your time doing it. Quality sleep – and getting enough of it at the right times is as essential to survival as food and water. Without sleep you can’t form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn … [Read more…]
Sleeping Disorders/Sleeping is an important part of your daily routine—you spend about one-third of your time doing it. Quality sleep – and getting enough of it at the right times is as essential to survival as food and water. Without sleep you can’t form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn … [Read more…]
Brain Basics/The Life and Death of a Neuron/Until recently, most neuroscientists thought we were born with all the neurons we were ever going to have. As children we might produce some new neurons to help build the pathways – called neural circuits – that act as information highways between different areas of the brain. But … [Read more…]
Autoimmune dysautonomia encompasses severe sympathetic and parasympathetic failure with relative preservation of motor and sensory function disorders of peripheral autonomic synapses, ganglionic neurons, autonomic nerve fibers, and central autonomic pathways mediated by neural-specific IgG or effector T cells. These disorders may be idiopathic or paraneoplastic, subacute or insidious in onset, and may present as a … [Read more…]
Autoimmune encephalitis refers to a group of conditions that occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells, leading to inflammation of the brain. People with autoimmune encephalitis may have various neurologic and/or psychiatric symptoms. Neurologic symptoms may include impaired memory and cognition, abnormal movements, seizures, and/or problems with balance, speech, or vision.[rx][rx] Psychiatric symptoms may include psychosis, aggression, inappropriate … [Read more…]