Neurology Medicine

Archive for the ‘About Neurology’ Category

Discuss the impact of headache. Assessing the impact of headache on work, family and social life.

Examine the possibilities’ of treatment. Since ‘there are many types of drug treatment and different routes of intake, and’ the need to find / that can be more successful.

· Agree on a treatment strategy. Agree on a treatment that works. Asked Questions’ common to do when you agree on a strategy are the following:

• How to take this medicine?

• For how long to continue treatment?

• What are the possible side effects?

• When will start ‘to run the drug?

· What to do if the headache does not pass?

• The drug ‘loanable?

• What are the signs that my headache is not ‘well controlled? (eg. frequency of attacks, use of analgesics, etc..)

· Schedule follow-up visits. Regular checkups are important to change the treatment or the dosage of drugs.

WHEN YOU TALK WITH THE SPECIALIST

There are at least three aspects that headache sufferers should take into consideration before speaking with the specialist:

1. Make an appointment specifically for headaches. The history of headache, family history and an assessment of any coexisting diseases are an important moment in the evaluation of headache. An examination of these factors properly occupies most of the time of the visit of the specialist.
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2. Fill in the diary of the headache. Draft the personal history (“biography”) of the headaches can ‘in fact significantly help the specialist to reconstruct the frequency, duration and intensity’ of headache, possible symptoms associated with this and the consumption of analgesics. The diary of headache and ‘also important to determine the factors that trigger attacks (foods, menstrual cycle, travel, stress, etc..)

3. Write down the treatments (pharmacological or otherwise) made ​​previously. The evaluation of intercurrent illness and drugs taken before the specialist help in the choice of treatment options. The list of drugs that have not been effective, and ‘to assist in decision making.

According to scientists at the character of a person would have four main dimensions related to specific neurotransmitters:

cognition-perception related to dopamine,
impulsivity-aggression related to serotonin,
affective instability due to norepinephrine or acetylcholine,
anxiety-inhibition (GABA or noradrenaline).

A study published in the latest issue of PNAS has paid particular attention to the role of serotonin, demonstrating that high levels of serotonin reduces aggression. Is then confirmed its importance in the trial and in moral behavior. Emotions, moral thinking, aggression, empathy all seem to be modulated by this neurotransmitter.

The study conducted on twenty-four people, examined questionnaires on specific moral thinking before and after administration of citalopram or placebo, agrees with similar observations in studies using functional MRI highlight the role of ventral medial prefrontal cortex, insula and amygdala

Serotonin is present in small quantities in the brain is produced in the gut and brain, is derived from tryptophan, present in discrete amounts in some foods (chocolate in the first place) and is known to make a protein meal to spend smaller amounts in the brain. And ‘this is the reason why eating meat makes it more aggressive.

Misdiagnosis in some patients, the diagnosis may be incorrect. The tension-type headache does not respond to beta blockers or flunarizine. Prophylaxis is not effective in migraine headache analgesic abuse.

Drugs effectiveness is not proven. Some patients are treated with drugs such as ineffective. clonidine, barbiturates or antiepileptic drugs.

Misuse errors in the selection of the drug of first choice. It should start treatment with beta-blockers or flunarizine and not, for example, with methysergide.

Overdose. Many patients stopping treatment because of side effects that occur at the beginning of therapy. Prophylaxis should be started with very low doses. Some patients may experience side effects more severe than others that use the same drug with different signs.

Setting inadequate treatment Sometimes the treatment is discontinued by the physician or the patient after only 2-4 weeks. The minimum time to become effective migraine prophylaxis is 3 months.

Continued use. If effective, patients sometimes continue treatment for years. Migraine prophylaxis should be discontinued at 9-12 months, the patient should then be reassessed.

Expectations The patient expects a “healing” from migraine prophylaxis. Prophylaxis actually only reduces the frequency and intensity of attacks.

Intolerance Patients should be informed about possible side effects. Sometimes, however, side effects can be used to treat a concomitant disease: beta-blockers, for example, are indicated if there is hypertension or anxiety, the flunarizine if patients have anorexia or insomnia; aspirin if the patient has thromboembolic risk factors.

Biofeedback is a technique that has been perfected over the past 20 years and has proven useful in treating some forms of headache such as migraine.

This technique combines modern technology with ancient Eastern practice of psychology and acquisitions. In this method you are using rather complex devices to accurately monitor various body functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, muscle tension and brain electrical activity, functions of which the subject is not normally conscious . Providing information on the individual level of these activities, biofeedback you can learn to control a function of the body previously controlled involuntarily, or altered.
The technique is based on a system of information feedback, in which the subject hears a sound frequency proportional to the level of muscle contraction in the district concerned, detected with electromyography (EMG).

With this technique of biofeedback combined with relaxation techniques, patients with migraine not only learn how to reduce the electromyographic activity of the frontal muscle or trapezius muscles, but also show a significant reduction in headache frequency.

Using a combination of biofeedback and autogenic training is as effective in the prophylaxis of migraine patients, as capable of reducing the frequency of attacks by controlling the anxiety disorders that are known to be triggers / l aggravating ‘ migraine attack.

Since 50% of patients with headaches also suffer from neck pain has various causes, often found useful the use of TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) that is applied using a device no bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

The use of phototherapy, or the patient’s exposure to short sessions of “light baths”, may be indicated in those forms of migraine with associated depressive symptoms, disturbed sleep patterns and disorders perimestruali.

These methods, as well as the prophylactic drug treatment, can induce an improvement of migraine and remove the patient from those estimates or symptomatic medications can cause side effects and a tendency to abuse. However, remain to be carefully considered some possible errors in the conduct of preventive treatment of migraine)

At present the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is when the mail is already evident and is confirmed only after death, when you look at the brain tissue of the patient. However, the amount of information coming from basic research allows the detection of biological markers that can make identifying the disease early, even ten years before the onset of frank dementia. Brain scans, magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and validated procedures which should be included in routine clinical practice in order to better define disease patterns that are the doctor’s observation.

Why? First of early diagnosis allows the early beginning of therapies that are showing their worth, the more effective the more they are established at an early stage. Probably for a neuroprotective effect. Then for the search. Any new therapy, including the applicant in search of a vaccine trial, can be experienced not only symptomatic effect but also in relation to the potential action on the progression of the disease.

The latest issue of Lancet Neurology has published an interesting article on the subject Workins Grou International Research for New Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease – Revising the definition of Alzheimer’s disease: a new lexicon.

This interest is not negligible. The constant increase in the incidence of the disease, the commitment of public and private resources, the need for programming of assistance measures are factors that weigh like boulders. Slow the progression of the disease, increase the years of independence are all desirable objectives and also avail themselves of a correct diagnosis.

How likely a person with Parkinson’s disease may die than those without this disease? This recurring question gives an answer to an article published in Neurology. The retrospective study was conducted in Norway in 230 people with Parkinson’s disease followed for some years. The information was processed with multivariate analysis.

The study found that the risk of mortality increases by 1.89 times if any dementia, 1.45 in the presence of psychosis, of 1.18 times in severe motor impairments. These factors are potentially modifiable. As for the non-modifiable factors we have seen that the risk increases by 1.40 times in relation to age at onset (older you are, the greater), 1.51 in relation to chronological age, 1.63 times in males.

The hallucinations are more important than benign hallucinations, there are no correlations with antiparkinsonian drugs, or antipsychotics, or with individual motor symptoms, except with postural instability and gait disorders (increased risk of 1, 70).

The authors suggest that to increase life expectancy in Parkinson’s disease are vital to early prevention of disability and motor development of dementia and psychosis. Since no single factor has shown a very significant effect and Parkinson’s disease itself is not a deadly disease, confirming the notion that life expectancy in Parkinson’s disease is linked to overall health than the disease itself.

Neurology is the medical specialty that deals with the study of the entire nervous system in general, the brain in particular. Recently, neurologists, psychiatrists are located apart from … This is the English anatomist who invented the term neurology. Thus, the neurologist is a physician who specializes in

Neurology: then he diagnoses diseases related to nerves, glands, brain, and spinal cord. Its clientele, essentially, consists of patients with migraine, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease; multiple sclerosis including … The neurologist can be accessed freely by those who deem it necessary, even since the establishment of coordinated care pathway. Social Security takes care consultations and up to seventy percent.

Nevertheless, it is most often the physician who advises her patients to turn to a neurologist. Indeed, the nervous system is especially complex because consisting of several billion neurons! So in fact, the neurologist will have to deal with very different pathologies. In fact, these conditions are those related to sleep disorders, language, memory … Furthermore, some people say “at risk” are forced to consult a neurologist: it contains the diabetic people who suffer from hypertension, smokers, alcoholics.

As with most doctors, neurologist always starts its consultation by an examination of his patient. This examination will help to highlight the personal and family history of the patient, and allow it to understand what drives a person to consult. In a second phase, the neurologist will test the functions of the nervous system of the patient: sensory and motor abilities, and cognitive functions such as for example memory or language. Then, if deemed necessary, prescribe additional tests such as MRI, CT or EEG…

Basically, the back serves to:

1. Keep up the body and allow movement.
2. Contributing to maintain a stable center of gravity, both at rest and, above all in motion.
3. Protect the spinal cord in a wrapped stone.

In order to sustain the weight of the body, the back has to be solid. It is composed of very strong bones and muscles strong. Read the rest of this entry »

In short, your brain likes to eat and not just books, apparently prefer to consume omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. Include this list of foods in your diet, your brain will enlighten.

1. Avocado (Persea americana)

It is essential for optimal brain function because it contains unsaturated fatty acids that help the blood circulate better body. The avocado also contains a variety of nutrients including vitamins C, B6 and E. Read the rest of this entry »