Neurology Medicine

Posts Tagged ‘Neurology’

Muscular dystrophy is a group of hereditary muscle diseases that weaken the muscles, which are also known for its plural “Muscular Dystrophy”.
Symptoms of muscular dystrophy

• Progressive muscle loss
• Poor balance gravitational
• Sagging eyelids
• Atrophy gonadal
• Loss of bowel control
• Scoliosis
• Inability to walk
• Frequent falls
• Duck Walk
• Limited range of motion
• Shortness of breath
• Contractures in joints

Importantly, few if any of these symptoms may be present at time of diagnosis. And also that some types of muscular dystrophy can affect the heart, causing cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias .

Causes of Muscular Dystrophy

These conditions are inherited. For example, the primary cause of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker is the inability to successfully create the protein dystrophin.
Dystrophin links the actin cytoskeleton and sarcolemma proteoglycan and mechanical stabilization level the calcium level.

Diagnosis of muscular dystrophy

The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy is based on muscle biopsy results. In some cases, a DNA test may be all that is needed.
A physical examination and medical history will help the doctor determine the type of muscular dystrophy. Specific muscle groups are affected by different types of muscular dystrophy.

Treatment of Duchenne muscular

There is no cure or specific treatment for either form of muscular dystrophy known for muscular dystrophy, despite significant progress being made.
Inactivity (such as bed rest and even sitting for long periods) can worsen the disease . Physical therapy, occupational therapy, orthopedic surgery, speech therapy and orthopedic instruments (wheelchairs, etc) are useful.

Prognosis of Muscular Dystrophy

The prognosis for people with muscular dystrophy varies depending on the type and progression of the disease. Some cases may be mild and progress so slowly that it can be normal life, while others produce severe muscle weakness, functional disability and loss of walking ability in a short time.
Death usually occurs from respiratory arrest due to the failure of the respiratory muscles.

Types of muscular dystrophy

• Becker muscular dystrophy
• Congenital muscular dystrophy
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• distal muscular dystrophy
• Muscular Dystrophy Emery-Dreifuss
• Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
• Duchenne muscular waist and legs
• Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy
• oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy

Another good reason to prescribe physical activity as a preventive measure of neurodegenerative diseases.

The next issue of Neurology will publish an article that demonstrates the effectiveness of walking on the maintenance of brain volume is that of memory.

A group of researchers at Pennsylvania he studied with magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive tests to 300 people. Dividing them into groups according to physical activity practiced we have seen that people who walk at least ten kilometers a week keeps the size of the brain is good that the cognitive abilities

The result surprised researchers because, although previous studies have shown that exercise is linked to brain function, is the first time it is a direct correlation between walking and little reduction in brain volume and the development of dementia

According to the researchers, the volume of gray matter is reduced in the elderly and often precedes cognitive impairment. The practice regular physical activity may protect against cognitive impairment, although this hypothesis has not been tested in longitudinal studies.

The areas of the brain whose volume is directly correlated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment are the inferior frontal gyrus, the hippocampus and the supplementary motor area.

These findings provide yet another reason for prescribing exercise as a preventive measure neurodegenerativ disease.

Neurology Service HospitalRegional de Punta Arenas and the Medical Society of Magellan, developed the VII Conference 2011 Neurological Patagonia, an activity that was aimed at general practitioners, internists, rheumatologists, physiatrists, neurologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses , Technicians, paramedics and students. The meeting was headed by Dr. Ramiro Fernandez and Paola Amaro, and coordinated by Dr. Octavio Azaldegui and Javier Gaete, who prepared for months a comprehensive program that seeks to provide current concepts and treatments for major diseases of concern to specialists in the area Magallanes Region.

Among these, a special treatment had hemorrhagic and ischemic AVE care models in neurology from a rehabilitative approach, Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, brain tumors, meningitis, acute neurological complications in HIV patients, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, apnea sleep and its medical consequences, narcolepsy, tetraparesis in an emergency; vertiginous syndrome, management of seizures, and headache are some of the topics to be discussed at the seventh edition of this traditional event, which brings together physicians from Chile and Argentina. Read the rest of this entry »

Chronic migraine is a difficult to treat primary headache that produces great impact on quality of life of patients. The international classification of headache changed the criteria for chronic migraine recently, so there are few studies that analyze groups with these new criteria. Objective. Analyze a group of patients with chronic migraine referred to a general neurology. Patients and methods. We selected the first 100 patients with migraine. Were established and analyzed subgroups of patients with episodic migraine, probable chronic migraine or chronic drug abuse according to the classification of headaches of the International Headache Society (IHS) and its revision in 2006. Results. Of the total of 738 new patients, 100 (13.5%) had migraine. Of the 100 new patients with migraine, 42 (5.6% of the total series) met the criteria for chronic migraine, and 15 patients with chronic migraine, the criteria for probable medication overuse headache. Before going to the neurology, only 41% had been diagnosed with migraine, 38% had not received information about this institution, only 17% took triptans as symptomatic treatment, and 23% had continued preventive treatment. Conclusions. We emphasize the importance of episodic and chronic migraine in a general neurology, using recent criteria of the IHS. Patients with chronic migraine sent to the neurology follow, a high percentage, without being diagnosed or reported, or treated properly, with a high degree of self-medication and frequent abuse of drugs. Triptan treatment in migraine prevention and heavy are still used little in primary care.

Here are the most common symptoms of Landau-Kleffner syndrome. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently.

Behavioral disturbances are extremely common in patients with SLK. They include hyperkinesias, outbursts of anger, defiance and aggressive manifestations. Some of these alterations may express a reaction to the frustration that is associated with language disorders.

Early signs are known as auditory agnostic, which make the child:
Suddenly having problems understanding what is said.
Appearing to have problems with hearing, you can think of the possibility of suffering from deafness.
Appearing to be autistic or developmentally delayed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo cameral SLK is a rare syndrome that occurs most often in boys than in girls. The onset occurs between 18 months and 13 years and three quarters of cases have their onset before age 7 for children, otherwise previously normal. In some cases, language development may have been somewhat delayed, however, is a clear regression constant verbal skills acquired previously.

The typical profile is: normal development and appropriate language in the first 3-7 years, loss of receptive language, retained some language expressive language “wire” with a few verbs, suspected deafness child’s frustration, surprised by their own change; behaviors similar to those of autism, IQ (IQ) nonverbal normal or above average, EEG abnormalities (EEG).  Some experts suspect that some cases of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) or late onset of autism might actually be Landau-Kleffner syndromes.

The occurrence of the disorder is associated with paroxysmal abnormalities in the electroencephalogram (usually in the temporal lobes, usually in a bilateral, but often with a more generalized disorder disrítmico) and in most cases also of seizures. The onset usually occurs between three and seven years old, but can occur earlier or later in childhood. In a quarter of cases of language loss occurs gradually over a period of several months, but most often is that the loss is sudden, in the course of days or weeks.

Read the rest of this entry »

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…

DISEASE Wallenberg, or lateral bulb syndrome, a rare neurological disease, usually due to cerebral arteriosclerosis, which is a softening of the back side of the bulb due to closure of the artery-inferior cerebella bit stereo.

It follows an injury to the nerve centers back-Olivares. Initially, the syndrome is manifested by headache, dizziness, ringing in the ears, vomiting.

These symptoms are due to edema and tend to regress. Following muscular in coordination and difficulty moving from one side, paralysis of half of the pharynx and drooping wing of a vocal cord, anesthesia half his face and sometimes mid-body.

The disease or Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease that affects the brain, primarily affects the functioning of memory causing the person with lose the notions of space and time.

Reaches old age above 65 years and according to polls the more advanced age, the greater the risk and its rate increases in the population over 85 years, causing brain atrophy and increased risk of throat infections. It is a degenerative disease that primarily affects the body’s neurons and is not contagious or infectious.

According to these same surveys, Alzheimer’s affects more women than men, which can be attributed to the fact that they live longer than them. The most frequent symptom, which manifests itself more sharply, is the constant memory leak that causes one to forget completely the facts, often lose track of where you are totally losing their autonomy of movement, which makes it dangerous to leave alone.

Due to constant memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease is popularly known as dementia and confused with senility. At the first signs different in the elderly, such as mood swings, lack of interest in routine habits such as bathing, taking care of their appearance, memory lapses, it is important that the family seek medical help for proper evaluation so that it maintains a good quality of life even with some limitations. Read the rest of this entry »

Expressive aphasia is a type of aphasia in which the person loses the ability to communicate with others. This is actually a brain disorder that occurs when the front portion thereof is damaged or not fully developed. This type of aphasia is known in terms of clinical neuropsychology as Broca’s aphasia, while in cognitive neuropsychology, is known as aphasia agrammatism.

This disorder is associated with underdevelopment of the Broca area of the brain, which refers to the left posterior inferior frontal. At the same time, the anterior region of the brain may be damaged or poorly developed. A person suffering from expressive aphasia are unable to speak and write, although it is able to understand and perceive what’s happening around your environment.

In such circumstances, the person will have difficulty initiating speech Read the rest of this entry »