Neurological Disorders (A Comprehensive Guide)

Neurological disorders are any disorder of the nervous system. It is due to any biochemical and electrical abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord or any other nerves which are in the brain.

These nerves can result in a range of symptoms, these symptoms present as a neurological disorder.

Different symptoms that showed in the result of any abnormality are paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, and loss of sensation, seizures, confusion and problem in conscious level.

There are many disorders that are usually common and many of the symptoms are rare.

There are different psychological and clinical assessment scales. By using them we can assess different symptoms of neurological disorders.

The treatment of the neurological disorder designed according to the severity of the symptoms.

Neurological treatment treated by neurologist and clinical neuro-psychologist.

There are different treatments for the neurological disorder in which different psychological interventions and medicine are prescribed.

These interventions include lifestyle changes, physiotherapy or other psychological intervention.

The other therapies include pain management and neuro-rehabilitation is included.

Different medications and specific diet instructed by the neurosurgeons. The world Health organization estimated in 2006 that approximately one billion people suffer from direct consequences worldwide.

Due to health differences and social stigma are the major factors which contribute to the suffering and disability to the individual.

What are some disorders of the nervous system?

The nervous system is susceptible to different disorders. It can be damaged by the following:

·         Trauma or brain wound

·         Infections in brain parts or nerves

·         Degeneration of nerves  or neurons

·         Structural defects of the brain and its parts

·         Tumors in the brain

·         Blood flow disruption in the brain part

·         Autoimmune disorders

Neurological disorders

Disorders of the nervous system may involve the following:

·         Vascular disorders: There are different reasons for vascular disorders such as stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage and hematoma, and extradural hemorrhage.

The impairment in these areas can lead to vascular disorders.

·         Infections: there are different reasons for infection and these may cause the reason for different major problems such as meningitis, encephalitis, polio, and epidural abscess

·         Structural disorders: this also comes under the umbrella term of neurological disorder in which brain or spinal cord wound included, Bell’s palsy, cervical spondylosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, brain or spinal cord tumors, peripheral neuropathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome are also included.

·         Functional disorders: This type of neurological disorder affects the functioning of the brain in which headache, epilepsy, dizziness, and neuralgia are included.

·         Degeneration is the inability to generate new cells or neurons or damaged neurons cannot be repaired such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington chorea, Encephalitis lethargica and Alzheimer disease.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome and Catalepsy are another types of neurological disorders.

Causes of neurological disorders

The human brain and spinal cord are surrounded by different membranes which are bounded with the bones and spinal called backbones.

They are chemically insulated through blood-brain barriers. The nerves are found under the deep-rooted skin but still, there is a danger of damage and exposure even in different scenarios.

The individuals’ neurons and neural circuits and nerves in which the all disposing of occurs are the cause of disruption and chemical imbalance.

When the neuro generation occurs in the nerves due to workload and any wound which affects the brain and spinal cord becomes the cause of damage in the brain and spinal cord.

Although there are a number of things that may cause any neurological problem such as congenital dysfunction, way of living, any infection, health problems that may cause by the environment leads to neurological deficits i.e., brain or spinal cord wound, nerve wound and gluten sensitivity also include the genetic disorders.

People who live or work in the areas that deal with metals cause them metal poisoning because small particles of metal often store in their body and directly affect their biological function which leads to many neurological problems such as the case lead can be considered in this context.

Sometimes neurological problems start in the body rather than the brain. It directly affects the body system that works together with the brain such as cerebrovascular disorder.

It is diagnosed when the problem occurs in blood vessels that supply blood to the brain.

There are some examples: the problem in the blood vessels when the supply does not reach in the brain is called cardiovascular disorders.

When neural functions become diorite such as nerves and neurons are called lysosomal storage disease.

There are different unexplained symptoms that are also considered in the neurological symptoms but the reason behind is particularly dysfunction in particularly peripheral neuropathy or ataxia. 

There are also different theories included in which neurological symptoms are associated with the mutated DNA repair genes and inadequate repair of the DNA damages became the cause of direct cell death and neuron depletion as well as disruptions in the pattern of epigenetic alterations required for normal functions.

Mental functioning of people with neurological disorders

Any dysfunction related to neurological damage such as memory dysfunction, cognition that affect our behavior is able to be evaluated by using the neurological examination which is carried by behavior neurologists. 

Clinical neuropsychology helps to recognize and identify the problem’s path through neuropsychological evaluation that causes disturb mental functioning due to some accident or impairment in the brain that causes brain wound.

On the other hand, in order to diagnose any neurological disorder.

First, they notice any abnormality or dysfunction which is obvious through human behavior and then proceed further toward the assessment procedure so that they can identify the central area that creates abnormalities.

Although, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the neurological disorders and mental disorders that are actually treated by the psychiatrists or clinical psychologists.

Disorders that are caused by any identified disease any create mental disorders are dealt with by Neuro-psychiatrists. 

Those diseases which come to an awareness abruptly without showing any symptoms previously such as behavioral or mental abnormality can be confronted in the field of idiopathic neurological symptoms so that it may help in the future to know the cause and cure for such disease.

It can also be said that in some cases of neurological disorder the symptoms perceived as caused by an increased level of brain functioning rather than the symptoms that are assumed to cause abnormality.

Such as seizures, sensual detachment, limb paleness and most importantly deficits in neurological functioning.

Some of these cases may be referred to as having mental disorders or psychological in nature rather than neurological nature such as conversion disorder if the symptoms have a general impression which clearly indicates that the social stressors are the main cause that leads toward emotional imbalance or deficit.   

An individual’s incorporation either partially or completely toward its conscious awareness is called detachment such as an individual may sometimes feel as totally standing apart from his emotions, body needs, and the environment they are living which referred to in psychological terms as depersonalization disorder. 

If a person is giving an impression of consciously receiving information from neurological stimuli but they actually do not belong to the part of the nervous system that works for it.

Such as the action of the limbs without having conscious approval i.e., alien hand syndrome.

The field of psychology that actually helps us to gain a deeper understanding of mental and learning disorders and also intellectual disabilities does not actually deal with neurological disorders.

Although, in the field of biological psychiatry try to understand the reason for mental disorders which is the part of their beginning in the nervous system.

While mental disorders are usually diagnosed on the basis of the patient’s mental state examination, structured interview, or applying different tests related to a disorder in clinical practice.  

Currently, the techniques we used for brain scanning known as neuroimaging are unable to diagnose a mental disorder neither gave the prediction for any mental disorder.

But helps us in other medical cases such as identifying the brain tumor.

Neuroimaging and various neurological assessments prove the correlation in the field of research that can detect and describe the mental abnormalities and the detail of precise areas of neural pathways and variances in brain structure.

Different fields have interconnected that focus their attention to understanding the procedure that involves mental functioning in humans which is known as cognitive science.

Neurological and mental disorders are difficult to distinguish due to the specific cause of a disorder or the basic understanding of the brain and structure and mind processes.  

 However, it is also said that the way psychologists describe mental disorders such as the definition of abnormality and destructive behaviors is totally opposite from the neurological definition of dysfunctional.  

Ondine’s curse is a different type of syndrome, caused by the inability of the nervous system to work properly.

Though it isn’t a neurological disorder.

 Healthcare providers who treat people with neurological disorder 

There are a lot of efforts and assessment measures that are determined and after a long term assessment, the diagnosis can be done with the patients suffering from the neurological disorder.

Most of the time individuals are referred for different tests and try to examine the other health conditions which might be the cause of these symptoms.

After repeated confirmation, the professional made the diagnosis after facts and test reports.

Neurology. This is the branch of medicine that is specifically related to neurological problems and it is known as neurology.

The medical health care professionals who treat neurological disorders are called neurologists.

The techniques which most neurologists use to treat the disorders are called endovascular techniques.

Neurological surgery. This is the branch if those professionals who are involved in the surgical intervention for neurological disorders are called neurosurgery, or neurological surgery.

Surgeons who operate as a treatment team for nervous system disorders are called neurological surgeons or neurosurgeons.

This treatment is done in acute phases when medicine cannot treat the problem.

Neuroradiologists and interventional radiologists.  The Radiologists specialize in the diagnosis of neurological conditions using imaging and in the treatment of certain neurologic conditions such as cerebral aneurysms, acute strokes, and vertebral fractures, as well as biopsies of certain tumors.

Rehabilitation for neurological disorders. The branch of medicine that provides rehabilitative care for patients suffering in neurological disorders is called physical medicine and rehabilitation. 

If you enjoyed this blog then you might as well like to read about the Pain disorder.

FAQ about neurological disorders

 References

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/overview-of-nervous-system-disorders

https://www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and-disorders/neurological-disorders-az