Nervous diseases are diseases that develop as a result of damage to the brain and spinal cord, as well as peripheral nerve trunks and ganglia. Nervous diseases are the subject of study of a specialized field of medical knowledge – neurology. Since the nervous system is a complex apparatus that connects and regulates all organs and systems of the body, neurology closely interacts with other clinical disciplines such as cardiology, gastroenterology, gynecology, ophthalmology, endocrinology, orthopedics, traumatology, speech therapy, etc. The main specialist in the field of nervous diseases is a neurologist.
ND can be genetically determined (Rossolimo-Steinert-Kurschmann myotonia, Friedreich’s ataxia, Wilson’s disease, Pierre-Marie ataxia) or acquired. Congenital malformations of the nervous system (microcephaly, basilar impression, Kimberly anomaly, Chiari anomaly, platybasia, congenital hydrocephalus), in addition to hereditary factors, can lead to unfavorable conditions of intrauterine development of the fetus: hypoxia, radiation, infection (measles, rubella, syphilis, chlamydia, cytomegaly, HIV), toxic effects, the threat of spontaneous termination of pregnancy, eclampsia, Rh conflict, etc. Infectious or traumatic factors affecting the nervous system immediately after the birth of a child (purulent meningitis, asphyxia of a newborn, birth trauma, hemolytic disease) often lead to the development of such nervous diseases as cerebral palsy, childhood epilepsy, oligophrenia.
Acquired ND are often associated with infectious lesions of various parts of the nervous system. As a result of infection, meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, brain abscess, arachnoiditis, multiple encephalomyelitis, ganglioneuritis and other diseases develop. A separate group consists of traumatic etiology: TBI, spinal cord injury, traumatic neuritis. ND that occur in old age are mainly caused by vascular changes (dyscirculatory encephalopathy, TIA, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke), less often by metabolic disorders (Parkinson’s disease). The incidence of oncological nervous diseases remains high. The limited space inside the skull or spinal canal leads to the fact that even benign tumors of this localization (astrocytoma, craniopharyngioma, ganglioneuroma) have a malignant course. In addition, the problematic nature of complete removal of CNS tumors causes their frequent recurrence.
Clinical manifestations directly depend on which part of the nervous system was involved in the pathological process. Thus, nervous diseases with brain damage can be accompanied by headache, dizziness, gait and coordination disorders, speech disorders, hearing and vision loss, paresis and paralysis of a central nature, changes in the psyche. Nervous diseases associated with spinal cord pathology are manifested by motor and sensory disorders below the lesion level. Diseases of the peripheral nervous system (trigeminal neuralgia, facial neuritis, intercostal neuralgia, cervical plexitis, polyneuropathies, radial nerve neuropathy, femoral nerve neuropathy, etc.) are characterized by pain syndrome, sensitivity disorders, muscular atrophy, motor disorders, vegetative and trophic changes in the innervation zone of the affected nerve.
The foundation of instrumental diagnostics traditionally consists of such studies as radiography of the spine, Echo-EG, EEG, REG, electromyography, in children of the 1st year of life – neurosonography. They are replaced by more accurate diagnostic methods: computed tomography, MRI, PET of the brain, ultrasound of the vessels of the head, duplex scanning. And, if REG and echoencephalography, as methods of diagnosing nervous diseases, gradually lose their significance, then EMG and EEG remain indispensable. They make it possible to identify functional changes occurring in many that are not diagnosed by neuroimaging methods. In some nervous diseases, diagnostic search requires lumbar puncture, stereotactic biopsy, puncture of the ventricles of the brain, and other diagnostic operations. Since the nervous system is closely interconnected with other organs and systems of the body, for a more accurate diagnosis of nervous diseases, a neurologist (a pediatric neurologist) often needs consultations from other specialists: an ophthalmologist, an endocrinologist, a cardiologist, an orthopedist, etc.
Treatment as a rule, includes a whole range of measures aimed not only at combating the cause of the disease and its etiopathogenetic mechanisms, but also at maximum recovery of the neurological deficit resulting from the disease. For this purpose, physiotherapy, physical therapy, mechanotherapy, reflexology, manual therapy are widely used in the treatment of nervous diseases. Treatment of aneurysms, tumors, intracerebral hematomas, abscesses and cysts of the brain requires surgical intervention. In some cases, surgical treatment is used for epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Brain surgeries and spinal cord interventions are performed by neurosurgeons. They carry out modern surgical treatment of nervous diseases with the help of minimally invasive microsurgical techniques and under the control of neuroimaging. Methods of functional neurosurgery have been developed that are successfully used for torsion dystonia, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s chorea and other nervous diseases accompanied by muscle tone disorders, tremor or hyperkinesis.
You can learn more about the causes, symptoms, methods of diagnosis and treatment of individual nervous diseases in the corresponding section of the Medical Directory of Diseases. The Medic Journal website also provides descriptions of the main hardware studies that help diagnose various nervous diseases.
Machado-Joseph disease is a genetically determined spinocerebellar ataxia, clinically represented by polymorphic combinations of cerebellar syndrome with manifestations of secondary parkinsonism, hyperkinesis, pyramidal disorders in the form of spastic paralysis and ophthalmoplegia, amyotrophy. It is diagnosed on the basis of a thorough study of clinical manifestations in the patient and his relatives, genealogical analysis, MRI…
Lafora disease is a hereditary myoclonic epilepsy, in which there is a deposition of polysaccharide substances in various tissues, primarily in cerebral structures. The clinic is dominated by myoclonic paroxysms, generalized epiprimes, progressive dementia, mental disorders and visual disorders. Diagnostics includes assessment of neurological status, visometry, ophthalmoscopy, EEG, brain tomography, examination of skin biopsies. The…
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare degenerative brain disease associated with the accumulation of pathological prion protein in neurons. Clinically, disease is manifested by dementia, pyramidal and extrapyramidal disorders, myoclonia, symptoms of cerebellar damage and visual impairment. The diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical symptoms, EEG data, analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, MRI and PET…
Canavan disease (spongiose infant degeneration) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease based on a lack of the enzyme aspartoacylase, which leads to demyelination of the nerve fibers of the brain. Disease manifests itself in early childhood with impaired motor skills and child development, difficulty eating, muscle hypotension, macrocephaly, epileptic seizures, blindness. Pathology is diagnosed by urine…
Gamstorp disease is one of the forms of transient muscle weakness associated with a sharp increase in the potassium content in the blood. Gamstorp disease is manifested by attacks of weakness occurring with varying frequency in the limbs and muscles of the face, which are accompanied by paresthesia, vegetative disorders, decreased reflexes and muscle tone…
Wilson’s disease is a hereditary disease transmitted by an autosomal recessive type. It occurs under conditions of mutations in the ATP7B gene encoding the copper-transporting liver ATPase protein. A characteristic feature of Wilson’s disease is the accumulation of copper in various organs and tissues, mostly in the liver and basal ganglia. Wilson’s disease can occur…
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive form of senile dementia, leading to a complete loss of cognitive abilities, developing mainly after 60-65 years. Clinically manifested by a gradual and constantly progressive disorder of cognitive abilities: attention, memory, speech, praxis, gnosis, psychomotor coordination, orientation and thinking. The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease allows a thorough collection of anamnesis,…
Alpers disease is a rare mitochondrial disease characterized by progressive encephalopathy in combination with cirrhosis of the liver. Pathology occurs due to mutation of DNA gamma polymerase (POLG1). The syndrome is manifested by epileptic seizures, depression of psychomotor functions, toxic liver damage. For diagnosis, EEG, MR brain scanning, liver ultrasound, as well as laboratory tests…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that is accompanied by the death of central and peripheral motor neurons. The main manifestations of the disease are skeletal muscle atrophy, fasciculations, spasticity, hyperreflexia, pathological pyramidal signs in the absence of pelvic and oculomotor disorders. It is characterized by a steadily progressive course, leading to a fatal…
Laryngeal vertigo is a transient disturbance of consciousness that occurs at the peak of a coughing fit. The syndrome is manifested by cough syncopations: short-term twilight consciousness, fainting or deep loss of consciousness, sometimes accompanied by convulsions, involuntary urination and defecation. Methods of diagnosis of laryngeal vertigo include questioning, examination of the patient, functional tests,…
