Disorders of the Central Nervous System

Meningitis

• Inflammation of the linings of the brain and spinal cord

• bacterial or viral causes

Encephalitis

• inflammation of the brain

Epilepsy

• Seizure disorder of the brain; recurring and excessive discharge from neurons

• One portion of the brain stimulates another, causing a cycle of activity that accelerates until the neurons become fatigues

• Grand mal (severe seizures) are less frequent that petit mal (milder seizures)

• ease person to the floor with a pillow and remove any dangerous, tight clothing (do not put anything in their mouth)

Cerebral Palsy

• disturbance in voluntary muscular action due to brain damage

• caused by abnormalities in the parts of the brain that cause movement

• spastic quadriplegia occurs but has normal intelligence

Poliomyelitis

• contagious viral disease of the nerve pathways of the spinal cord

• causes paralysis

Hydrocephalus

• increased volume of CSF within the ventricles of the brain

• enlargement of the head occurs

• prevent buildup of pressure by diverting the CSF around the blocked area

Parkinson’s Disease

• decreasein dopamine

• tremors and have difficulty initiating movement

• may opt to have deep brain simulation procedure

Essential Tumor

• disorder that causes rhythmic shaking

• progressive and occurs later adulthood

Multiple Sclerosis

• autoimmune, chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheath on nerve cell axons

• myelin sheath destroyed and scarring on nerve cells that blocks transmission of nerve impulses

• symptoms could be nystagmus (involuntary movement of the eyes)

West Nile Virus

• Mosquito borne virus that either have no symptoms are cause encephalitis/meningitis

Dementia

• loss in at least two areas of complex behavior that significantly interferes with a person’s daily life

Alzeheimer’s Disease

• progressive degenerative disease in which the first symptom is a problem remembering recently learned information

• nerve endings in the cortex of the brain degenerate and block the signals that pass between nerve cells

• beta-amyloid plaques (sticky clumps of protein and cellular fragments that surround neurons) and neurofibrillary tangles (insoluble twisted fibers made of tau that buildup in nerve cells)

Brain tumors

• any area of the brain

• common type: glioma (glial cells)

Hematoma

• localized mass of blood collection

• epidural hematoma (above dura mater), subdural hematoma (below dura mater)

Concussion

• result of a severe blow to the head

• potentially cause loss of consciousness

Coup/Contrecoup

• coup injuries: occur within the skull near the point of impact

• Contrecoup injuries: occurs beneath the skull opposite to the area of impact

Spinal Cord Injury

• C1-C3: lethal

• C1-C4: may cause quadriplegia (loos of movement and feeling in the trunk and four extremities)

• C5-C7: paralysis of arms and shoulders

• T1-T12 and L1-L5: may cause paraplegia (loss of movement an feeling in trunk, and both legs)