A neurological disorder concerns an individual’s health condition that is related to the nervous system.
It is a disease of the human’s central nervous system that causes any part or certain part of the body to be paralyzed. Neurological disorders can sometimes result from biochemical causes or physical injury to the brain, spinal cord, or nerves of an individual. In some cases, the causes are unidentified, and only the effects can be seen. An in imbalance in a person’s system may be also a sign of neurological disorder.
Thus, when a person has an imbalance in his or her system, there is a great chance that he or she is at risk of getting different diseases that can settle in some parts of the body that are weak (“Neurological Disorder”).The different kinds of neurological disorders involve the central nervous system which includes the brain, brainstem and cerebellum, the peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous system (“Neurological Disorder”). There are various kinds of neurological disorders. The three major neurological disorders to be discussed in this paper are the following; Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and cerebral palsy (“Neurological Disorder”).
Alzheimer’s DiseaseAlzheimer’s disease is a kind of serious brain disorder that destroys the brain cells of an individual and causes problems with a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior which later can affect the person’s work, social life, or lifestyle. Alzheimer’s disease becomes severe over time, and it can also be fatal to the person who has this disease. Alzheimer’s is a common form of dementia, which involves losing memory and other intellectual abilities severe enough to affect a person’s life. Alzheimer’s disease can also cause impairment in the patient’s judgment, changes in his or her personality, disorientation, and loss of communication skills.
At present, Alzheimer’s is said to be one of the causes of death among adults (“What is Alzheimer’s”).When a person becomes old and reaches the age of 65 and above, there is a greater risk that he or she will acquire Alzheimer’s disease. A genetic factor is also considered to be one of the contributing factors to the occurrence of Alzheimer’s among individuals. It is said that a parent who has Alzheimer’s disease has a 50% chance of having a child who will later on develop Alzheimer’s disease when the child gets old.
Other factors for having this disease include the following: having high blood pressure or hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes, and elevated blood cholesterol. These factors increase the chance of having an Alzheimer’s disease. However, it does not really necessary mean that a person who has the mentioned factors is expected to have Alzheimer’s disease (Crystal).Alzheimer’s disease does not begin rapidly, and symptoms are not automatically seen.
On the first stage of this disease, a person may have mild forgetfulness such as forgetting recent events, activities, names of familiar people or things, and mood swings. During the second or middle stage, the symptoms are just moderate. The patient will start to become disabled; he or she will become more disoriented and disconnected with the realities in life. Although he or she may be able to perform simple task alone, there will still be a need to assist him or her with some and other complex activities such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, and eating meals.
They will also lose their bladder and bowel control (“Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms ; Stages”).In addition, during the middle stage, individuals with Alzheimer’s may not be able to engage in conversations anymore as their ability to speak and understand is affected, and they will have difficulty in reading and writing as well. It will also become more difficult to make them cooperate as they become more stubborn. There may be times also that they will invent their own words.
They will become depressed, restless, indifferent, bad-tempered, and withdrawn.In the last stages of Alzheimer’s disease, it is said to be the worst and most severe stage wherein the person may totally lose the ability to speak, recognize people, and control their body functions. They can sometimes wander and go to different places, which is very dangerous for them. Hence, special attention and total care are needed by people who have Alzheimer’s disease (“Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms ; Stages”).
Finally, a person with Alzheimer’s disease may die since they are totally not capable of caring for themselves, and they can acquire other diseases such as pneumonia, heart disease, and other health-related problems that can occur during the stages of having Alzheimer’s disease (“Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms ; Stages”).There is no specific treatment that is made to stop Alzheimer’s disease. However, there are some drugs and other alternative strategies to help the patient lessen the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Drugs such as donepezil, rivastigmine or galantamine may aid the patient in preventing some symptoms from becoming worse only for a limited time.
Other drug such as memantine can treat moderate to severe cases of Alzheimer’s disease, although it is also very limited in its effects. Some drug medications can help control behavioral symptoms of the patient like sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, and depression. These drugs are said to be beneficial for patients as well as for their caregivers or family members. Nevertheless, family members and caregivers should consult physicians and medical experts so that proper attention and medication will be given to the patients who have Alzheimer’s disease (Hill).
Non-drug medication treatment can also help manage the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease such as environment change, therapeutic activities, and appropriate communication techniques. In addition, analyzing a patient’s behavior and looking at the possible factors that trigger certain behaviors may help control the symptoms of a patient such as the feeling of anxiety, depression, and mood swings. For example, noisy environment or surrounding may affect the patient negatively and cause the patient to feel grumpy or have mood swings. In this case, the caregiver or family members should place the patient in a calm and peaceful environment to eliminate the certain behavior of the patient (Hill).
Education for family members who serve as caregivers is extremely important. The quality of life of the loved one with the disease depends on proper care. Early detection and treatment can considerably lessen the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing all the facts and information about Alzheimer’s disease is necessary especially if there is a history of it in the family so that it can be prevented by the family members and they will be able to take necessary plans for the future (Hill).
Epilepsy;Epilepsy is another common neurological disorder which is also sometimes called seizure disorder. A seizure is an occasion wherein a person loses his or her consciousness and motor or muscular control. Seizure in this context means atypical, uncontrollable discharging of the brain’s nerve cells, resulting in a temporary disturbance of motor sensory or mental function of a person. Seizure disorder often causes a person who has epilepsy to experience repetitive muscle jerking, also called convulsion.
This condition is caused by a sudden change in electrical activity in the brain of an individual. In epilepsy, seizures are recurrent (Samuel).Different factors may affect the development of epilepsy in an individual. Even healthy people can have seizures under different occasions and situations.
Some of the common causes of epilepsy are; tumor, chemical imbalance as low blood sugar or sodium in a person’s body system, head injuries, certain toxic chemicals or drug abuse, alcohol withdrawal, stroke, hemorrhage, and birth injuries (Huff, S. and Huff, M.).Symptoms of epilepsy vary depending on the type of seizure.
Generalized seizure is a type of seizure people mainly connect with epilepsy and is at times called grand mal epilepsy. This affects the whole or most parts of the brain. If a person has this kind of seizure, he or she may lose consciousness and not remember what has happened. In some occasions, the person may look like he or she is not breathing.
He or she may sometimes lose urine control. After a few moments, he or she will gradually return to his or her consciousness (Huff, S. and Huff, M.).
The second type of seizure is called the partial or focal seizure. In this type of seizure, only some parts of the brain are involved. Thus, only some parts of the body are affected. Symptoms such as lip smacking or chewing movements, rubbing, stroking or fiddling with hands, looking from one side to another in a confused manner, and juddering movements can be observed on the person with this type of seizure (Huff, S.
and Huff, M.).The last common type of seizure is called absence or petit mal seizure. This type of seizure is common in childhood.
A person with this type of seizure will lose their consciousness, but not necessarily involve falling down or experiencing involuntary jerking movements. The person may also seem like daydreaming. It is not very obvious unlike the other types of seizure, and it only lasts for a few seconds (Huff, S. and Huff, M.
).There is no cure to epilepsy, but treatment such as certain drugs can stop or at least lessen the seizures to the person with epilepsy. In some cases, if drugs do not help lessen the episodes, a surgery can be an alternative way to help control the occurrence of seizures (Huff, S. and Huff, M.
).A lot of factors trigger epilepsy such as lack of sleep, alcohol or drugs, missing meals, stress, and hormonal changes. Hence, monitoring the affected person’s activities and environment can also help control the seizure. Alternative treatments like some relaxing strategies such as yoga, meditation, and aromatherapy may also be helpful in controlling seizures because they are techniques in avoiding and getting rid of stressors and other factors that may trigger epilepsy (Huff, S.
and Huff, M.).There is no way to cure and stop epilepsy. Epilepsy can be prevented if the reason of the disorder can be identified and eliminated.
Consulting a neurologist can help also the person with epilepsy to control this kind of disorder by following all the necessary precautions so that the person, especially the family or people that are close to the epileptic person would know what to do in the case of seizure attacks (Huff, S. and Huff, M.). In addition, prevention through medications can help.
Patients with epilepsy are also advised to wear seat belts in the car and helmet when riding motorcycle and bicycle so that a head trauma can be also avoided. Prenatal care is also important in preventing epilepsy. A good prenatal care can stop and help prevent brain damage to a developing baby that may later result in epilepsy and other neurological problems. It is very important for expecting mothers to be very careful and take extra care during their pregnancy period such as preventing themselves from having high blood pressure and having infections while pregnant.
Lastly, gene identification for types of neurological disorders can give chances for screening the genes and prenatal diagnosis that can eventually prevent or stop many cases of epilepsy (“Preventing Epilepsy”).Cerebral PalsyCerebral palsy is a group of motor and physical disorders that are connected or related to a brain injury. Uncontrolled movements and muscles is the general problem of patients diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The condition can also affect the whole body.
The cause of cerebral palsy is a brain injury which happens before a child is born, at the time of birth or within the first few years of a child’s life. Reason for having this kind of disorder can be premature delivery of a baby, lack of blood and oxygen, infection like meningitis, and head injury. This neurological disorder could also be genetic. However, the exact cause is not yet known (Brereton).
Symptoms of cerebral palsy vary from person to person, since they usually affect the person’s body movement. It may involve problems in posture, balancing, swallowing, speaking, and other body functions of person. Some people with cerebral palsy cannot walk and have to use wheelchairs. Symptoms also include having uncontrolled body parts like the arms and legs that can shake a lot and give the person a hard time walking or doing simple body movements.
Seizures are said to be prevalent in cases of cerebral palsy. Mental retardation can also be related to cerebral palsy. In addition, hearing loss, vision problems, dental problems, and even bowel and bladder control problems are associated with this neurological disorder (Polzin).There is no cure for cerebral palsy.
However, it can be treated through different kinds of methods and strategies. Usually, it requires medications, surgery, special devices, physical therapy, and individual support. Some alternative treatments that have been effective in some individuals with cerebral palsy include massage therapy, vitamin supplements, herbal medicine, and acupuncture (i.e.
, a Chinese therapy technique where fine needles puncture the body) (Ratanawongsa and Hale).Since the cause of cerebral palsy is unknown, mothers should take extra care during their pregnancy period and after they give birth to their babies so that they can prevent the risk of cerebral palsy to their children. Other extra precautionary measures include eating a healthy diet, not smoking and drinking, avoiding harmful substances, and having a regular check up with the doctor. These preventive measures can help reduce the risk of developing cerebral palsy on an individual (Ratanawongsa and Hale).
Moreover, controlling diabetes, anemia, hypertension, and nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy can be very helpful as well in preventing not only premature births of the baby but also the occurrence of cerebral palsy in children. Once the child is born, there are several tips that a mother should know in taking care of their babies to lower the risk of brain damage. First, never shake an infant since it can result in shaken baby syndrome and brain damage. Next, when riding a car, the baby should always be properly strapped into their chair so that the baby will be protected while inside the car.
Lastly, lead exposure may also result in lead poisoning causing brain damage. That is why parents should make sure to never expose an infant to lead (Bachrach).Neurological disorders are relatively diverse and chronic; they are very challenging or treat and are sometimes disabling. It is a great threat to the functioning of a human being.
Any individual can have neurological disorder. For this reason, people should be aware of all the different types and causes of the various neurological disorders that are currently present. In this way, people will be educated about this major and common health problem in the society today so that these disorders can be prevented.;;;;;;;;;;Works Cited“Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms ; Stages.
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