Misc CNS Conditions

CNS Conditions

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

"Lou Gehrig's Disease"

Progressive motor neuron disease

Disease of motor tracts of lateral columns and anterior horns of spinal cord

Results in progressive muscular atrophy, increased reflexes, spastic irritability of muscles

No cure

Spina Bifida

Neural tube defect

Failure of one or more fetal vertebrae to close in utero

Nerve damage is permanent

No cure

Poliomyelitis (Polio)

Infectious, inflammatory viral disease of CNS

May result in permanent paralysis

New cases are rare

Muscular Dystrophy

Genetic disease

Progressive muscle weakness

Degeneration of skeletal or voluntary muscle fibers

Duchenne Dystrophy

Most common childhood muscular dystrophy

Onset by age 6

Symmetrical weakness/wasting

Progresses to death

Multiple Sclerosis

Unpredictable disease of CNS

Inflammation of nerve cells

Demyelination or destruction of myelin sheath (protective covering of nerve body)

Nerves unable to conduct impulses properly

Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Serious disorder

Body's immune system mistakenly attacks peripheral nerves

Leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness

Parkinson's Disease

Degenerative changes in basal ganglia due to dopamine deficiency

Rhythmical muscular tremors

Rigidity of movement

Droopy posture

Usually occurs after 40 years of age

Leading cause of neuro disability > 60

Bell's Palsy

Sudden, unilateral weakness or paralysis of facial muscles

Occurs due to dysfunction of seventh cranial nerve (CN VII Facial Nerve)

Often follows viral infection

Herpes Simplex Virus can also be a cause

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Also called "Tic Douloureux"

Extremely painful, affects 5th cranial nerve (trigeminal nerve)

Electrical shock type spasms and pain

Tends to be chronic

Antiseizure medications used as treatment

Alzheimer's and Pick's Disease

Results from death and disappearance of nerve cells in cerebral cortex

Marked atrophy of the brain

Pick's Disease: Permanent form of dementia similar to Alzheimer's, tends to affect only certain areas of brain, rare condition

Huntington's Disease & Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Huntington's: Genetic defect in chromosome 4, adult onset and early onset types

Creutzfeldt-Jakob: Form of brain damage, rapid decrease in mental function and movement, results from protein called "prion," no treatment

Cerebral Palsy

General term for non-progressive disorders of movement and posture