A neurological disorder is anything that affects the central nervous system or the peripheral nervous system. Accordingly, the following body structures can be affected in a nervous system disorder: the blood vessels of the nervous system, the brain, the meninges, the peripheral nerves, the spinal cord or the sensory organs. The immune system and the endocrine system can also be included, insofar as the origin of the disease is attributed to a disorder in the nervous system.
Overview of the most important diseases of the nervous system
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease of the central nervous system that causes progressive muscle paralysis over time.
A well-known person with ALS was Stephen Hawking. Although ALS is fatal in most cases after only a few years, he was able to live with the disease for decades.
description of the disease
ALS belongs to the category of neurodegenerative diseases. These are diseases in which more and more nerve cells gradually die off. ALS is relatively rare and usually appears between the ages of 50 and 70.
ALS causes progressive damage to the motor nerves (also called motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord.
Since the effects of ALS usually only affect the motor nervous system, patients rarely lose senses such as vision, hearing or the ability to feel pain.
cause
The disease can be divided into three different causes:
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In the sporadic form no clear cause could be identified.
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One endemic form is identified when ALS is more common in some areas than others. It has not yet been found out why this is so.
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If the cause is traced back to a hereditary mutation, it is called a mutation familial form.
However, the causes of the disease are still largely unexplored.
symptoms and course
The course of the disease is often insidious. Initially, only minor muscle weaknesses and muscle atrophy occur until the facial muscles are affected and the facial expressions of the patient decrease. Speaking and swallowing also become more difficult. As the course progresses, patients have to struggle with severe cramps and paralysis of the muscles.
Alzheimer
Those affected by Alzheimer’s disease suffer from a reduction in brain mass.
description of the disease
Alzheimer’s belongs to a category of diseases called dementia. This includes all diseases that cause mental deterioration and memory loss. It is also one of the neurodegenerative diseases.
Alzheimer’s is relatively common; every year there are about 120,000 – 160,000 new cases. The disease mainly affects people of old age.
The degradation of brain mass is due to a disruption of certain proteins. They deposit or accumulate, which leads to impairment of the neurons and the transmission of impulses. Ultimately, this causes the neurons to die.
cause
The causes of Alzheimer’s are not yet fully understood. However, some risk factors have already been discovered that probably increase the chance of developing Alzheimer’s.
The most important factor is age. More than every second person over the age of 85 suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Mutations can also increase the risk. It is also assumed that previous illnesses such as diabetes and an unhealthy lifestyle also have a negative impact on the risk of Alzheimer’s.
symptoms and course
Alzheimer’s is also an insidious disease. The first phases of the disease can occur up to 25 years before diagnosis.
Symptoms initially appear as slight disturbances in memory, attention and orientation. Signs of depression can also make themselves felt.
With the onset of the second stage, there are severe losses in fine motor skills (this includes, for example, skills such as tying your shoes), language comprehension decreases, information that has been received can only be processed with difficulty (faces and names are forgotten) and also the personality of the patient can change.
In the third stage, physical symptoms increasingly appear: those affected have difficulty swallowing, speaking becomes more and more difficult, they lose their appetite and generally feel listless and weak.
Alzheimer’s is a complex disease. If you want to learn more about the disease, there is a separate article here on !
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is a condition that affects the behavior and attention of those affected.
description of the disease
ADHD occurs primarily in childhood and adolescence. It is estimated that approximately 5% of all children and adolescents are affected, with boys being diagnosed with ADHD more often than girls (although this is probably due to a different pattern in girls).
In ADHD, the function of neuron units, which are mainly located in the frontal brain and in the basal ganglia (see brain), is disturbed. These parts of the brain are primarily responsible for emotions, cognition, motivation and physical activity. The neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline play an important role here, as they cannot be released as intended in patients with ADHD.
cause
The causes of ADHD are still largely unclear. It is assumed that many different factors interact and thus ensure the development of the disease. These can be genetic factors as well as complications during pregnancy and childbirth or environmental influences.
symptoms and course
ADHD manifests itself in different forms throughout life.
Even in small children, the disease can show itself through disturbances, for example in eating or sleeping.
In the phase between toddler and kindergarten child, symptoms then appear primarily through hyperactivity and activity. Developmental delays can also occur at this age, for example when the affected children are not very good at coloring or cutting out things or have difficulties with language development.
ADHD symptoms often become particularly clear when they start primary school. While hyperactivity may go unnoticed in kindergarten, in a quiet place like school, children have great difficulty dealing with the urge to be active and inattention. This can cause them to develop great difficulty in reading, writing and arithmetic.
In adolescence, restlessness (the urge to move the body) usually decreases, but symptoms such as attention deficit disorder and impulsivity remain. Many young people can also develop other mental illnesses (e.g. depression) due to the difficulties caused by ADHD, such as problems at school.
In adults with ADHD, the condition may have improved but may still be present. Although hyperactivity and inner restlessness are usually no longer symptoms, impulsiveness often remains, which causes difficulties at work and in private life for those affected.
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a disease in which sufferers suffer from seizures that can lead to unconsciousness.
description of the disease
Epilepsy can occur in anyone. For some people, the first seizure occurs in childhood, while other patients are seizure-free into adulthood.
Basically, every hundredth person has an epileptic seizure in their lifetime. However, one only speaks of epilepsy when these seizures occur several times and without any apparent trigger.
During an epileptic seizure, there is a sudden excessive discharge of brain cells. As a result, many signals are sent to the nerve cells at once, causing muscle cramps.
cause
Epilepsy can arise for a variety of reasons. On the one hand there is a genetic predisposition, but injuries to the brain (e.g. tumors or strokes) can also cause epilepsy.
Certain stimuli, such as flickering lights, can trigger an epileptic seizure in some sufferers. Other circumstances such as alcohol, stress, lack of sleep or lack of oxygen can also be risk factors. However, this applies not only to people with epilepsy, but also to people without (also called occasional seizures).
symptoms and course
Since epilepsy is diagnosed when seizures occur frequently and without cause, having an epileptic seizure is not in itself a sign of having epilepsy.
A seizure can manifest itself in a number of ways. Some people only feel absent-minded for a short time, which is the case with one of the mildest variants of the seizure. It can also happen that only individual muscles or muscle groups relax or cramp for a short time. A major seizure, on the other hand, is characterized by spasms, stiffening, and convulsions of the whole body, with the patient being unconscious in this state.
Epilepsy can go relatively unnoticed, but it can also severely limit the lives of those affected. Medications can reduce or completely prevent seizures.
migraine
Migraine is a brain disease that causes severe headaches to those affected.
description of the disease
Migraine is a disease that can affect anyone, with most cases occurring between the onset of puberty and the age of 50. Up to 14% of all women and up to 8% of all men in Germany suffer from migraines.
It differs significantly from ordinary headaches. On the one hand, these are often many times stronger and, moreover, usually only occur on one side of the head. A migraine is diagnosed when these symptoms occur five or more times.
It used to be thought that migraines caused the blood vessels in the brain to constrict and expand again. According to current research, the cause is more likely to be in the nerve cells in the brain.
It starts with a disruption of the pain centers due to over-activity of the neurons, which in turn causes pain signals to be sent to the brain. This reacts by sending messenger substances…