Understand, feel, perceive, reason, plan, infer, relate…All of these processes are carried out and/or mediated by the brain.
This organ organizes and supervises all the functions of the human organism. However, the health of this organ is not always optimal, and accidents or diseases may occur that affect its proper functioning. This causes a series of serious effects on the body as a whole, and may lead to death. This is the case of neurological disorders.
Neurological disorders are those pathologies located at any point in the nervous system.whether in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves and nerve extensions, altering their correct functioning. The symptoms of these disorders can be very varied, and can produce both a deficit and an excess of neuronal activity in any system of the body. The causes depend on the disorder, and may even be unknown today.
Among the best known, we find the group of dementias, but these are not the only group of existing neurological disorders. Conditions such as epilepsy, tumors or other disorders are also part of the most common neurological disorders.
The most common neurological disorders
These are the fifteen neurological disorders that occur most frequently.
1. Strokes
Although it is not a single disorder since it encompasses a set of possible problems, Cardiovascular accidents are currently one of the three main causes of death in the world. These accidents can have a very diverse cause, course and effects depending on the affected area.
They can basically be classified into cerebral hemorrhage, that is, the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain that produces a flood in the brain that kills the surrounding neurons by compression, and ischemia or stroke that is produced by the cessation of blood supply to the brain. a part of the brain, generally due to a thrombus or access that prevents irrigation in the area.
In any case, neuronal death is caused that will produce serious effects on the person’s functions and domainswhich can lead to death, vascular dementia, acquired disorders due to brain injury or even a temporary loss of some function with complete recovery in the case of a transient cerebrovascular accident.
The best-known dementia is also one of the most common neurological disorders in the population. This disorder, Alzheimer’s, is a dementia of insidious and progressive onset that begins with recent memory loss and anomia. (difficulty finding the names of things). This disorder evolves over three phases, producing a progressive deterioration in all intellectual functions and autonomy.
Thus, as the disorder progresses, difficulties appear in the second phase in speech, praxias or sequenced movements and in the recognition of people and objects (this set of symptoms being the so-called aphaso-apraxo-agnosic syndrome) and over time In the third phase, these conditions worsen, culminating in the patient becoming bedridden and mutism. Although a specific cause is not yet known, At a neurological level, the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques has been observed.especially in the temporal and parietal lobes.
3. Parkinson’s disease
This disease is also one of the most common neurological disorders. At a neurological level, the existence of a degeneration of the nigrostriatal system has been observed, which entails a deficit of the neurotransmitters dopamine and GABA in this system. The most well-known and characteristic symptom of this disorder is parkinsonian or rest tremors, which manifest with spasmodic jerks of the distal limbs (especially the hands) that occur in a state of rest. In addition to this, other notable symptoms of this disease are the presence of high amotivation, gait alterations, lack of blinking and facial expression, and poor movement.
Over the years it is possible for subcortical type dementia to develop, although it does not occur in all cases. If present, mental and physical slowing, failure in memory recovery and the presence of difficulties in executive and visuospatial tasks stand out.
4. Tension headache
Headache is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system throughout the world, headache.. Within the group of headaches, among which we find subtypes such as tension headache and cluster headache, migraine and tension headache especially stand out.
When it comes to tension headaches, its appearance is generally related to stress or muscle problems.
There are two basic subtypes of headache, episodic and chronic.. The first appears in attacks of short duration, being the most common type of headache. The second causes much greater disability by persisting for a much longer period of time. The pain is mild or moderate.
5. Migraine
Migraines, mostly genetically based, are caused by the release of inflammatory substances around nerves. and blood vessels of the head. It is usually a recurring condition throughout life. Moderate or severe headache, nausea, and intolerance to light and sound stand out, with the pain worsening with activity.
Brain disorder that occurs when brain cells send wrong signals. Within this disorder there are grand mal crises and petit mal crises. The first are the best known, characterized by the presence of loss of consciousness followed by seizures, incontinence, tongue biting and hallucinations. In the latter, seizures do not occur, characterized by mental absence.
Normally, seizures are preceded by an aura, initial sensations that the affected person can detect such as previous tingling, hallucinations or obtundation (confusion). The etiology of this disorder can be very diverse, and may be due, among other things, to the presence of brain tumors, head trauma, atypical development of the nervous system or other alterations and diseases.
6. Multiple sclerosis
Chronic progressive disorder of the central nervous system caused by insufficient myelin production in white matter neurons. A progressive demyelination of neurons occurs. Although there are several possible courses for this disease, in general multiple sclerosis occurs in a fluctuating manner, that is, in the form of outbreaks that disappear and improve, with progressive worsening.
Although the specific symptoms at each moment will depend on the affected areas, frequent symptoms being visual and sensory alterations, motor weakness, pain and fatigue, spasticity or perceived muscle tension and hemiparesis, among others. Although there is no cure so far, attempts are being made to develop some promising drugs.
7. Brain tumors
Brain tumors are also included among the most common neurological disorders.. They are produced by the uncontrolled and abnormal growth of some type of brain material, and may appear in neurons, glia or meninges. Although there is a broad classification of brain tumors according to the type of cell that produces them and their behavior, all of them are highly dangerous for the patient’s life, even tumors with benign behavior.
This is because the progressive growth of matter causes great pressure of the rest of the brain against the skull, displacing structures, deforming them and crushing them. The specific symptoms depend, as in the case of strokes, on the location of the tumor and the areas it affects directly or indirectly.
8. Duschene muscular dystrophy
It is the most common muscular dystrophy in humans, especially in men.. This neuromuscular disorder, usually of childhood onset, has as its main symptom generalized muscle weakness that develops progressively and chronically. Over time it causes difficulties walking and even breathing, and death is common in young adulthood due to problems such as heart failure.
Bacterial or viral infection that affects the meninges or membranes that protect the nervous systemproducing inflammation of these and affecting the nervous system as a whole. The appearance of feverish symptoms, nausea, photophobia, severe headaches, alterations in consciousness or mental status is common. Although immediate intervention is required, it is a medical condition that can be reversed, although its consequences may remain chronic.
10. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
This disease, popularized in recent times by the well-known Ice Bucket Challenge campaign, It is a progressive neurological disorder that attacks motor cells, degenerating them until cell death.
In this disease, neurons stop sending messages to voluntary muscles, which end up atrophying, preventing movement and speech. Over time, this affects the thoracic muscles and diaphragm, requiring artificial respiration and respiratory arrest being a probable cause of death. The damage affects only the motor neurons, so cognitive abilities remain preserved.
ADHD is a disorder diagnosed in childhood very frequently and which, however, is very controversial. The reason for this is that the diagnostic criteria to identify it are very ambiguous, and it is estimated that it is often detected in boys and girls who do not really present it; That is, false positives appear and overmedication occurs..
In fact, little is known about this neurological disorder, other than that it causes the brain to function in an abnormal way as judged by what has been seen through neuroimaging methods and that this fits with descriptions of young people experiencing serious problems. of concentration even taking into account his age.
12. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
This concept brings together a set of symptoms related to problems when understanding non-literal aspects of language, socializing and display prosocial behavior. Furthermore, in more than half of the cases these problems appear together with intellectual disability.
13. Dyslexia
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disorders, and consists of an abnormal functioning of the brain that makes the task of reading, that is, extracting meanings and vocalizations from a series of symbols, very complicated.
14. Tourette syndrome
People with this condition are unable to control a series of repetitive movements similar to very elaborate tics. This affects both your social life and your quality of life in general, since it is an intrusive element that generates stress and prevents you from concentrating.
15. Dyscalculia
In a similar way to what happens with dyslexia, This neurological disorder is not in itself a threat to health.but an alteration of the ability to learn. In this case, what is difficult is performing mathematical operations and manipulating numbers in general.
