The 15 most common neurological disorders

Diseases of the nervous system and brain that can cause great discomfort.

Understanding, sensing, perceiving, reasoning, planning, inferring, relating... All of these processes are carried out andThe 15 most common neurological disorders

Diseases of the nervous system and brain that can cause great discomfort. Understanding, sensing, perceiving, reasoning, planning, inferring, relating.

... All these processes are carried out and/or mediated by the brain.

This organ organizes and supervises all the functions of the human organism. However, the health of this organ is not always optimal, and accidents or diseases may occur that affect its proper functioning. This causes a series of serious effects on the organism as a whole, which can lead to its death. This is the case of neurological disorders.

What are neurological diseases?

Neurological disorders are those pathologies located at any point of the nervous system, whether in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves and nerve extensions, altering their correct functioning.

whether in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves and nerve extensions, altering their correct functioning. The symptoms of these disorders can be very varied, being able to produce both a deficit and an excess of neuronal activity in any system of the organism. The causes depend on the disorder, and may even be unknown at present.

Among the best known, we find the group of dementias, but these are not the only group of existing neurological disorders. Conditions such as epilepsy, tumors or other disorders are also among the most frequent neurological disorders.

The most common neurological disorders These are the fifteen most frequently occurring neurological disorders.1. Stroke

Although this is not a single disorder, as it encompasses a range of possible problems, cardiovascular accidents are now one of the three leading causes of death,

cardiovascular accidents are currently one of the three leading causes of death in the world. . These accidents can have a very diverse cause, course and effects depending on the area affected.Basically, they can be classified into cerebral hemorrhage, i.e. the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain that produces a flood in the brain that kills the surrounding neurons by compression, and ischemia or stroke, which are caused by the cessation of blood supply to a part of the brain, generally due to a thrombus or access that prevents irrigation in the area.

In either case,

a neuronal death is provoked that will produce serious effects in the functions and domains of the person, and may lead to death. It can lead to death, vascular dementia, acquired disorders due to brain injury or even a temporary loss of some function with complete recovery in the case of a transient stroke.2. Alzheimer's disease

The best known dementia is also one of the most common neurological disorders in the population. This disorder, Alzheimer's disease, is an insidious and progressive onset dementia that begins with recent memory loss and anomia (difficulty finding the name of things). (difficulty in finding the names of things). The disorder progresses through three phases, with progressive deterioration in all intellectual functions and autonomy.

Thus, as the disorder progresses, difficulties in speech, praxias or sequenced movements and in the recognition of persons and objects appear in the second phase (this set of symptoms being the so-called aphasia-apraxo-agnostic syndrome) and with time in the third phase these conditions worsen, culminating with the patient becoming bedridden and mute. Although a specific cause is not yet known,

neurologically, the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques, especially in the temporal lobes, has been observed. especially in the temporal and parietal lobes.3. Parkinson's disease

This disease is also one of the most frequent neurological disorders. At the neurological level, the existence of a degeneration of the nigrostriatal system has been observed, leading to a deficit of the neurotransmitters dopamine and GABA in this system. The best known and most characteristic symptom of this disorder is Parkinsonian or resting tremors, which manifest with jerking and twitching.

manifested by spasmodic jerking of the distal limbs (especially the hands), which

(especially the hands) that occur at rest. In addition to this other prominent symptoms of this disease are the presence of high unmotivation, gait disturbances, lack of blinking and facial expression and poor movement.Over the years, subcortical dementia may develop, although it does not occur in all cases. If present, mental and physical slowing, failure in memory retrieval and the presence of difficulties in executive and visuospatial tasks stand out.

4. Tension headache

Headache is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system in the world, headache.. Within the group of headaches, among which we find subtypes such as tension headache and cluster headache, migraine and tension headache stand out in particular.

As far as tension headache is concerned, its onset is generally related to stress or muscular problems.

There are two basic subtypes of headache, episodic and chronic.. The first appears in attacks of a short duration, being the most frequent type of headache. The second is much more disabling as it persists for a much longer period of time. The pain is mild or moderate.

5. Migraine

Migraine, mostly genetically based, is caused by the release of inflammatory substances around nerves and blood vessels in the head. and blood vessels in the head. It is usually a recurrent condition throughout life. It is characterized by moderate or severe headache, nausea and intolerance to light and sound, and the pain is aggravated by activity.

5. Epilepsy

A brain disorder that occurs when brain cells send erroneous signals.

. Within this disorder there are grand mal seizures and petit mal seizures. The first are the best known, characterized by the presence of loss of consciousness followed by seizures, incontinence, tongue biting and hallucinations. In the second ones there are no seizures, characterized by a mental absence.

Comic seizures are usually preceded by an aura, initial sensations that the affected person can detect such as a tingling sensation, hallucinations or obtundation (confusion). The etiology of this disorder can be very diverse and may be due, among other things, to the presence of brain tumors, cranioencephalic trauma, atypical development of the nervous system or other alterations and diseases.

6. Multiple sclerosis

Chronic progressive disorder of the central nervous system caused by insufficient myelin production in the neurons of the white matter. Progressive demyelination of neurons occurs. Although there are several possible courses for this disease, in general, multiple sclerosis is a fluctuating course, i.e. in the form of fading and improving outbreaks, with progressive worsening.While the specific symptomatology of each moment will depend on the affected areas, frequent symptoms are visual and sensory disturbances, motor weakness, pain and fatigue, spasticity or perceived muscle tension and hemiparesis, among others. Although so far there is no cure, some promising drugs are being developed.

7. Brain tumors

Brain tumors are also among the most common neurological disorders.

. They are caused by the uncontrolled and abnormal growth of some type of brain material, and may appear in neurons, glia or meninges. Although there is a wide classification of brain tumors according to the type of cell that produces it and its behavior, all of them are highly dangerous for the patient's life, even benign tumors.This is due to the fact that the progressive growth of matter causes great pressure of the rest of the brain against the skull, displacing structures, deforming and crushing them. The specific symptoms depend, as in the case of stroke, on the location of the tumor and the areas directly or indirectly affected.

8. Duschene's muscular dystrophy

This is the most common muscular dystrophy in humans, especially in males.. This neuromuscular disorder, usually of infantile onset, has as its main symptom a generalized muscle weakness that develops progressively and chronically. Over time, it causes difficulties in walking and even breathing, and death in young adulthood due to problems such as heart failure is frequent.

9. Meningitis

Bacterial or viral infection that affects the meninges or membranes that protect the nervous system. It causes inflammation of the meninges and affects the nervous system as a whole. It is frequent the appearance of febrile symptoms, nausea, photophobia, intense headaches, alterations of consciousness or mental state. Although immediate intervention is required, it is a medical condition that can be reversed, although its consequences may remain chronic..

10. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

This disease, popularized in recent times by the well-known Ice Bucket Challenge campaign, is a progressive neurological disorder,

is a progressive neurological disorder that attacks motor cells, degenerating them to the point of cell death. In this disease, neurons stop sending messages to voluntary muscles, which eventually atrophy, preventing movement and speech. Over time, this affects the thoracic muscles and the diaphragm, requiring artificial respiration and respiratory arrest being a probable cause of death. Damage affects only motor neurons, so that cognitive abilities remain preserved..

11. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is a very frequently diagnosed disorder in childhood, yet it is very controversial. The reason for this is that the diagnostic criteria to identify it are very ambiguous, and it is estimated that it is often detected in children who do not really have it;

that is to say, false positives appear and it is overmedicated. In fact, little is known about this neurological disorder, other than that it causes the brain to function abnormally judging by what has been seen by neuroimaging methods and that this fits with descriptions of young people experiencing serious concentration problems even considering their age.12. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

• This concept groups together a set of symptomatologies related to problems in understanding non

problems in understanding non-literal aspects of language, socialization and prosocial behavior.

and showing prosocial behavior. In addition, in more than half of the cases these problems appear together with intellectual disability.

13. Dyslexia Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disorders, and consists of an abnormal functioning of the brain that makes the task of reading, i.e., extracting meanings and vocalizations from a series of symbols, very complicated.14. Tourette Syndrome

People with this affectation

are unable to control a series of repetitive movements similar to elaborate tics. similar to very elaborated tics. This affects both their social life and their quality of life in general, since it is an intrusive element that generates stress and prevents them from concentrating.15. Dyscalculia

In a similar way to what happens with dyslexia, this neurological disorder is not in itself a threat to health but an alteration of the ability to learn. In this case, what is difficult is to perform mathematical operations and manipulate numbers in general.

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• Bibliographical references:

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• American Psychiatric Association (2002). DSM-IV-TR. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Spanish edition. Barcelona: Masson. (Original in English 2000).

• Baños, R. and Perpiña, C. (2002). Exploración Psicopatológica. Madrid: Síntesis.

• Belloch, A., Baños, R. and Perpiñá, C. (2008) Psychopathology of perception and imagination. In A. Belloch, B. Sandín and F. Ramos (Eds.) Manual de Psicopatología (2nd edition). Vol I. Madrid: McGraw Hill Interamericana.

• Bermejo, P.E.; Blasco, M.R.; Sánchez, A.J. and García, A. (2011). Manifestaciones clínicas, historia natural, pronóstico y complicaciones de la esclerosis múltiple. Medicine; 10 (75) : 5079-86.

• Ferrari, M.D. (1998). Migraine. Lancet, 351:1043–1051.

• Fisher, R.S. et al. (2005). Epileptic seizures and epilepsy. Definitions proposed by the International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE). Epilepsia, 46:470–472.