Neurology Medicine

Archive for the ‘Neurologic Diseases’ Category

What to do to control stroke risk factors modifiable: hypertension, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, arrhythmia, cholesterol and addictions.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and can cause serious disability if not treated urgently and effectively. It is essential to be informed about those behaviors and modifiable risk physical conditions, to acquire better habits and make appropriate medical checks.

A stroke occurs when blood flow stops to part of the brain (ischemic) or when it causes bleeding inside the head (hemorrhagic). In both cases, as the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, brain cells weaken or die.

Serious consequences of a stroke

According to ” How to reduce stroke in Latin America? “, it is estimated that by 2024 deaths from ischemic heart disease and stroke will triple in the region.

On the other hand, the brain controls our movements, thoughts, feelings and behaviors, it is easy to imagine how a stroke can affect us. Of course, the long-term sequelae depend on several factors: first the skill and speed with which the patient meets the acute, but also will affect the severity of the stroke, the brain area affected and rehabilitation therapy .
What to do to prevent a stroke

Although there are factors beyond our control such as age, gender, heredity and personal history, there are others in which we can influence, these are: hypertension, atrial fibrillation, the addiction (to snuff, alcohol and cocaine), high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity.

Monitor blood pressure regularly and maintain a low sodium diet. As hypertension usually has no symptoms, is a more dangerous condition that must be carefully monitored as it is the most common risk factor for stroke. According to the INECO Vascular Neurology Clinic , is present in almost 80% of patients who suffer a stroke in Argentina.
Learn to take your pulse to detect atrial fibrillation (AF) , cardiac arrhythmia that increases fivefold the risk of stroke. You should consult your doctor when you notice an irregular pulse, palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness. However, as in many instances this anomaly in heart rate without symptoms, it is always advisable to conduct an annual inspection visit to the health professional who, if deemed necessary indicate the performance of an electrocardiogram.
Get help to treat addictions. The tobacco , alcohol and illicit drug use and cocaine increase the risk of stroke. As addictions have psychological and physical components, it is very important to seek professional help to overcome and control.
Check your cholesterol with medical treatment, physical activity and proper nutrition that includes fiber and fruit. It is appropriate to leave the junk food that provides nutrients. The body requires a lot of cholesterol, but if the concentration of fats in the blood is too high is deposited in the arteries, increasing the risk of stroke.
Get moving. To leave behind a sedentary lifestyle will have to make regular physical activity at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Walking, swimming, biking and dancing are recommended exercises.
Control your blood sugar levels and a high amount accelerates the narrowing and hardening of the arteries. That’s why diabetics and others who have hyperglycemia are at increased risk for stroke. Unfortunately, it is estimated that at least half of people with diabetes are unaware, when the doctor may diagnose with a simple blood test. Then, to control diabetes is important to maintain a healthy diet and avoid foods high in sugars, fats and calories. It is also advised to reduce alcohol consumption, maintain weight and physical activity.
Watch your weight and measure your waist. Obesity is a key factor that enhances other factors. In addition to maintaining a healthy weight and physical activity, waist circumference is important: the woman should not be greater than 80 inches, while the man must not exceed 90.

Tips from the World Health Organization

The World Health Organization summarizes: “The daily intake of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, reducing salt intake to less than a teaspoon a day and physical activity 30 minutes 3 ​​times a week, can help preventing heart attacks and strokes. “

There are many risk factors for stroke are modifiable, is in our hands to be aware of the risks and get into the adventure of changing habits.

A condition that many children, youth and adults have, and often not well diagnosed or understood.

Sometimes, not adequately disclose this condition for some people, are often discriminated against or misunderstood, not only by family members, but also in education and employment centers.
What is ADHD?

The attention deficit (AD), also known as attention deficit disorder (SDA) is a condition that causes alterations in attention span and concentration.

It manifests itself in children and adults , regardless of gender. Not related to cognitive abilities because most people with this condition have normal intelligence.

In some cases it is associated with hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors. However, it occurs in all cases. However, a person with LD have more often this type of behavior than other individuals of the same age.

The psychologist Arbieto Kenny Torres notes that “from the neurological point of view, it is assumed that attention deficit disorder is a brain function in children, adolescents and adults, characterized by the presence of persistent behavioral and cognitive symptoms such as attention deficit , hyperactivity and impulsivity. ”
What are the symptoms of ADHD?

The American Psychiatric Association in its Diagnostic Manual of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (DSM-IV) in the edition of 1995 says that people with AD are characterized by:

Do not pay attention to the details, so that tasks can produce errors in school and / or work.
Have difficulty sustaining attention in tasks (work or school) and recreational activities.
Show absent and giving the impression of not listening when spoken to directly.
Have difficulty following directions and completing tasks and duties (both school and work).
Show difficulty organizing tasks and activities, both personally and in groups.
Avoid activities that require constant mental effort.
Losing important items or materials to perform assigned tasks or activities.
Constantly susceptible to being distracted by irrelevant environmental stimuli.
Show careless conduct daily activities.

What are the consequences of ADHD?

The consequences vary from one person to another and are associated with whether the condition was diagnosed earlier or later in the life of that individual.

In the case of persons (children and / or youth) of school age, a common result is poor academic performance. Due to the short attention span, level of uptake is lower. Sometimes teachers are not prepared to handle such situations grade students lazy, lazy or unwilling to learn, when the reality is another. With this behavior, all they do these teachers is negatively condition the students who suffer from this condition.

In the psychological realm many children who have LD have difficulties in the development of his personality. As poorly qualified, have problems with self-esteem, feelings of invalidity (“no good”) and frustration (which can lead to depression).

In the social area, many of those with LD have difficulties in social integration due to the lack of understanding of those around them. That means trouble getting along with others, which leads to isolation, disciplinary problems, feel and cause social rejection and discrimination often made simply because the adults with whom they interact not understand or are unwilling to understand what happens in the lives of those who react that way.
What cope with ADHD?

If you suspect a child, youth and adult attention deficit suffered in the appropriate field is required a primary diagnosis to determine if you meet some of the features associated with this condition.

In establishing the possibility of the presence of DA must refer to a specialist. This case is a clinical psychologist who apply the respective tests to determine whether the person needs therapy or medication, in this case should be referred to a physician specializing in neurology or psychiatrist, so they can determine what type of drugs are needed to the patient’s treatment. It is important to understand that the DA is not always caused by neurological problems.

In many cases, a combination of medical treatment with psychotherapy, especially in cases where the consequences of the deficit may have caused psychological problems.
Conclusion

It is not easy living with AD, however, is a condition with which to live. However, it is necessary not only be aware of the disease but to receive adequate and competent professional help.

U.S. researchers have discovered a “marker” in the spinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer’s could be key to the diagnosis of the disease, according to an article published today in the journal Archives of Neurology.

The new study, led by John Trojanowski of the University of Pennsylvania, included more than 300 patients over 70 years, of which 114 had normal memory, memory problems showed 200 and 102 suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
After analysis of the spinal fluid of these patients, the team found a “marker” protein in the spinal fluid of 90 percent of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, this “marker” was also found in 72 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often precedes development of Alzheimer’s.
The researchers analyzed the spinal fluid of these patients for the fragment of a protein involved in the formation of plaques in the brain, the target organ disease. This is the beta amyloid, a peptide (a molecule formed by covalent attachment of two or more amino acids) that is the main component of senile plaques in brain tissue and therefore one of the molecules modulating Alzheimer’s disease. Also sought the tau, a microtubule protein that is abundant in neurons and accumulates in dead and dying nerve cells in the brain.
Followed for five years, researchers were able to predict almost one hundred percent certainty which patients very mild cognitive impairment would progress to full Alzheimer’s disease. Among the people you identified this protein, 72 percent of those with mild cognitive impairment and 36 percent with normal cognitive function showed signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Similarly, all patients without cognitive problems in the time of the test but tested positive for protein, they developed the disease within five years. This suggests that the disease is active and could be detected much earlier, which researchers now raised is whether patients are willing to undergo this test because “At what age do you want to label people?” Said Dr. Trojanowski , lead author of the study to present their findings.
The spinal fluid is obtained by inserting a needle into the space between vertebrae and the removal of a small amount of fluid in the spinal cord. It is a painful procedure, so many doctors and patients shun it.
Alzheimer’s experts have reached consensus that the development of evil begins a decade or more before people show symptoms, and when the symptoms are obvious, perhaps too late to protect the brain.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease whose cause is unknown and is characterized by progressive deterioration of physical and mental sufferers.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC, for its acronym in English) estimate there are about 5 million people in America who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, which mainly affects people over 60 years.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2008, in the world there are eighteen million people suffer from this disease.

Many older people suffer mild cognitive problems, but men are more likely to suffer momentary memory loss than women, says a U.S. study.

Researchers from the Alzheimer Research Center Mayo in Rochester, Minnesota, concluded that 19 percent of men between 70 and 89 years suffer the so-called “mild cognitive impairment,” compared with only 14 percent of women. People with disabilities have memory problems, but can perform daily activities and be aware that they are forgetful.

National Institutes of Health, United States notes that MCI is an intermediate point between forgetfulness and dementia. Dr. Ronald Petersen said the findings were surprising because Alzheimer’s disease, which usually is preceded by this type of mental decline, affects more women than men.

Even after analyzing the differences in education, age and diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, men had about 50 percent more likely than women to suffer mild cognitive impairment. “The gender differences were somewhat surprising to us, because most people believe that women have a higher risk than men” of getting this type of disease, Petersen told Reuters.

The researcher stated that not everyone with this disability develop dementia, but some people do, so it may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, which is the most common form of dementia.

About 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment dementia suffering ends, while the rest of the population, the percentage drops to 1 or 2 percent. The study, published in the journal Neurology, has made analysis of 2,000 people randomly selected in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Investigators spent several hours observing each participant specifically to see if they had any symptoms of mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Around a quarter of the elderly had cognitive problems beyond the normal signs of aging, Alzheimer’s disease.

The mild impairment is more common in older people but also found that the more education a person had received the less likely it was that had this kind of cognitive disorders.

New research suggests that biomarkers in the blood may help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease before it advances and potentially open up the door to better treatments. While currently there are no treatments that can halt or delay the onset of the disease, the hope is that having the ability to detect Alzheimer’s earlier could provide clues about which drugs might prevent the worsening of the disease, the authors study.

“Until now, most research has been conducted among those who already have Alzheimer’s disease,” said study author Sid O’Bryant, director of research at the Institute of Rural and Community Health, F. Marie Hall of the Center for Health Sciences at Texas Tech University. “We need to identify those at greatest risk.”
In the study, researchers analyzed 100 biomarkers in blood serum of 197 Alzheimer’s patients and 203 people without the disease. Participants were assigned a “risk score” based on the levels of various biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and interleukin 10, which have been associated with inflammation. About 22 of 100 biomarkers were the most significant, according to the study.

The risk score accurately identified biomarkers to 80 percent of those with Alzheimer’s disease. When including Alzheimer’s risk factors such as age, sex, education and genetic information, the accuracy of the test was 94 percent.

Conversely, the risk score accurately identified biomarkers to those without the disease 91 percent of the time. When including other risk factors for Alzheimer’s in the score, the accuracy was 84 percent.

The study is promising but has limitations, said Dr. Ralph Nixon, director of the Center for Excellence on Brain Aging at the University of New York (NYU). People who participated in the study already had Alzheimer’s disease, so more research is needed to determine if the test is sufficiently sensitive and specific for use in people with symptoms such as mild cognitive impairment, a risk factor for Alzheimer’s .

The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is usually done through a clinical examination with a neurologist. Neuroimaging studies are performed to rule out other diseases that cause mental deterioration, such as strokes or brain tumors, Nixon said.

Other methods include lumbar puncture or specialized MRI that can detect amyloid proteins, although generally not available outside the major metropolitan hospitals or as part of medical studies, O’Bryant said. “The real stumbling block in the field is not so much the detection of Alzheimer’s disease, which can do quite well once the disease has progressed, but early signs of disease or be able to distinguish subtle deterioration memory that has to do with Alzheimer’s disease from other causes of mild memory impairment, “said Nixon.

Currently, several medications can help treat the symptoms of memory loss, but neither addresses the underlying causes of the disease, said Nixon. “The purpose of biomarkers is to find ways to identify these changes can occur in a very early stage, so that we can root out the disease before it advances too in the brain, when it is very difficult to achieve a drug to reverse “said Nixon.

The researchers developed the blood test in conjunction with Rules-Based Medicine in Austin, Texas. It has applied for a patent, said O’Bryant. In a second study in the journal, Health System researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a trial of 18 months to test the safety of pioglitazone (Actos), a diabetes drug in Alzheimer’s patients. Although the drug did not improve the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, there were few side effects, according to the study.

The researchers emphasized that the trial involved only 25 patients and was designed to assess only the safety but not efficacy. The next step will be for larger trials to test efficacy. “There are many encouraging preclinical data that the pathways and mechanisms that could address this medicine are highly relevant to the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Nixon, who was not involved in the investigation. “There is a strong reason for studying drugs with this type of action.”

They often suffer from sleep disorders. Usually by disorders of the brain and nervous system: Insomnia, the parasonmias, hypersomnia.

According to Dr. Fernando Caballero Martinez., A specialist in Family Medicine and coordinator of the Family Medicine Teaching Unit, the dream is one of the facets of life that most influences mental health problems, almost all mental illnesses are associated with alterations dream.

Dyssomnias calls or the most common sleep disorders include:
Insomnia

Insomnia is one of the diseases most common sleep, is the inability to achieve normal sleep for the patient’s age. Frequency increases with age. The person suffering from insomnia, has the following features:

Daytime fatigue and moodiness.
Difficulty falling asleep and wake up easily.
Sleeping difficulty produces anxiety.
Lack of concentration and memory.
Ease of accidents because of fatigue.

For insomnia, before taking hypnotics to their risk of dependence, must exhaust the physics that are usually much more effective than pharmacological. This should observe the following rules:

Establish a regular bedtime.
Exercising during the day.
Sleep in a quiet place, dark and good room temperature.
Choosing a bed clothing as pajamas both very comfortable.
Use relaxation techniques for periods of particular tension.
Avoid stimulating or exciting beverages such as coffee or chocolate before going to bed.
Allow to digest before bedtime.
Do not go to bed hungry.

Rhythm disturbances

It is caused by an alteration of the schedule preset by the person at your usual pace. It is normal among the population with shift changes in their working lives. When their turn to change, and sleep during the day, symptoms usually appear this condition. On transoceanic flights (jet lag) and any other situation that disrupts the normal order, as students with exams or companions of patients. This alteration is transient once the cause, the person returns to its normal rhythm.

Parasomnias

The parasonmias are transient sleep disturbances that often occur without the person realizing it. As typical examples sleepwalking, bedwetting, nightmares or night terrors. There are changes that may be a malaise in individuals to meet their daily tasks, but can have serious consequences at times as in the case of sleepwalking may be at risk by the actions carried out during the disturbance as falls or accidents.

The enurosis or involuntary urination in bed during sleep off ages considered normal. It is more common among children, who feel bad about wetting the bed, sometimes they can create conditions such as shame and trouble sleeping away from home.

Hypersomnia

It is contrary to insomnia syndrome, but not exactly too much sleep, but about being sleepy during long hours with a restless sleep that does not reach deep stage and during the day has episodes of drowsiness and fatigue, altering the daily lifestyle.

The most common cause of this disorder is sleep apnea , which consist of a slip that the person is breathing during the night, forcing him to wake up to follow the rhythm of breathing. If these stops occur several times during the night, it is difficult to get restful sleep. It is usually more common among males aged 40 to 50 years and even more in those with problems of obesity, because excess fat in the neck can block the airway. About 2% of the population may suffer from this sleep disturbance.

With magnetic resonance imaging, scientists at the University of Indiana (USA) have seen the handwriting are more activated brain regions and promotes the learning of shapes, symbols and languages.

Furthermore, the authors explain the newspaper ‘The Wall Street Journal, this technique helps to better express thoughts and ideas. Even for some neurological disorders, the ability in this writing can serve as a diagnostic tool.

Benefits
The Spanish neurologist Virgilio Hernando Requejo explains the benefits of handwriting and the brain activity that generates large. “Writing with pen use more brain than when using the computer keyboard. If we write by hand for a while, it is clear that brain structures are changing,” he said.
The role of memory
However, the fears that the first thing affected is the ability to memory training. “Now everything is on the iPhone and similar devices, we have much more information in your pocket, but we are not even capable of remembering a phone number and that is what is really worrying,” he said.

Look for your children to use handwriting not only improve their learning ability and memory, will also have a good time interacting with them.

A problem in the lining of blood vessels may have to do with developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study. The condition, known as endothelial dysfunction, leading to loss of nitric oxide in the endothelium, the layer of cells lining the blood vessels. Nitric oxide is essential for the widening of blood vessels (vasodilation), which improves blood flow and oxygen delivery and nutrients to tissues.

Previous research has linked endothelial dysfunction with cardiovascular disease. In the new study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that endothelial dysfunction increases the production of proteins that provide the raw material for the amyloid plaques observed in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings are published online December 2 issue of Circulation Research. “As far as cardiovascular, have long known that the preservation of healthy endothelium is essential to prevent major cardiovascular events. Now it seems that this could have important implications for cognitive impairment,” he said in a news release from the American Heart Association Dr. Zvonimir S. Katusic, lead author and professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic.

Katusic said that the study could help explain how exercise benefits cardiovascular health and brain. Previous research has shown that exercise can delay or prevent cognitive decline.

“A lot of literature showing that every time you exercise, you stimulate the endothelium to produce more nitric oxide. What we have identified in this work may help explain the benefit (cognitive) reported the exercise,” Katusic said.

Increase antipsychotic treatment with biologically active natural product, L-theanine, relieves symptoms in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, a team of Israel published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

The team of Dr. Vladimir Lerner, Mental Health Center Be’er-Sheva, explains that neuroprotection became the center of the investigation of psychiatric disorders associated with progressive loss of brain tissue.

The L-theanine, experts say, is an amino acid present almost exclusively in the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, to 1 or 2 percent. You can cross the blood brain barrier and is neuroprotective, while improving mood and relaxing. The team tested benefits with a dose of 400 mg L-theanine daily for eight weeks, versus placebo, added to the therapy given antipsychotic treatment 60 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Forty patients completed the study.

According to Positive Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS, for its acronym in English), the positive subscale and general psychopathology score decreased significantly with L-theanine therapy than with placebo. The effect was modest for the positive subscale, but “significantly higher” for the general psychopathology. Furthermore, compared with placebo, L-theanine significantly reduced anxiety as Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HARS, for its acronym in English).

“The positive results encourage the hope that the L-theanine is neuroprotective in people with schizophrenia,” the researchers wrote, adding: “Further studies are needed to verify the clinical benefits of the use of L-theanine.”

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased risk of developing depression, according to a meta-analysis. “The results highlight the importance of screening for mood disorders in all women with PCOS,” the authors say.

But the team of Dr. Anuja Dokras, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, admits that he has too much data to back this advice. “One longitudinal study addressed this issue. Therefore, there is a tacit recommendation, but the meta-analysis suggests that we should start to be screening all women with PCOS,” said Dokras this wording.

As published by Obstetrics & Gynecology, the researchers examined the records of abnormal depression through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies on 522 women with PCOS and 475 healthy women (control group).

The risk of getting a record abnormal depression was 4.03 times higher in women with PCOS than in control groups. In five studies that controlled for body mass index, the risk of getting an abnormal record remained significantly higher (4.09 times) in women with PCOS.

This persisted regardless of the screening tool used and country of origin of the results. Dokras said that further studies to investigate the effects of thinning on the records of depression in women with PCOS.