NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells that carry massages to and from the
brain and spinal cord to various part of the body.
The nervous system controls a lot processes for example movements, thoughts and memory. It also
plays an important role in the things your body does without thinking for example breathing.
The branch of medicine that studies the nervous system is called neurology and doctors who
practice in this field of medicine are called neurologists.

What does the nervous system do?

The nervous system uses specialized cells called neurons to send signals. These signals travel
between your brain, organs, muscles.
Every kind of neuron sends different signals: for example, the motor neurons tell your muscles to
move.

What are the parts of the nervous system?

The nervous system is divided into 2 major parts:

1) The Central nervous system (CNS) that is made up of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
2) The Peripheral nervous system (PNS) that consists of sensory neurons and nerves that
connect to one another and to the nervous system.

Functionally, the nervous system has 2 important subdivisions: the voluntary component and the
involuntary component.

There are a lot of tests and procedures to diagnose conditions involving the nervous system.
In addition to the traditional X-ray, a specialized X-ray called fluoroscopy examines the body in
motion. Other exams include a magnetic resonance imaging and an electroencephalogram which
records the brain’s electrical activity.

What conditions and disorders affect the nervous system?

Many conditions and disorders can affect the nerves cells. Some of the most common causes are:

- Diseases for example infections, cancers and autoimmune diseases (diabetes, rheumatoid
arthritis can cause nervous system problems),
- Stroke,
- Accidental injury for example car crashes and falls are the most common injuries that can
damage the nerves in the body,
- Toxic substances,
- Aging process for example when you are older, you lose the sensation in the fingers, toes
and in the other parts of your body.

There are a lot of patients with nerve disorders who experience functional difficulties like:
- Epilepsy,
- Cerebral palsy,
- Multiple sclerosis,
- Parkinson’s disease which is a progressive disease that affects the movement,
- Alzheimer’s disease which is a disease that affects mental functions like the memory.
 CEREBRAL PALSY

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition that affects body movements due to brain injury. This injury can
happen occur before, during or after birth.
CP can affect the movement, the coordination, the posture but, in many cases, the vision, the
hearing and the sensation are also affected.
The damage to the brain is permanent and so there is no cure. The effects of CP can cause stress to
the body and a premature ageing.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms appear during infancy or preschool years and can vary from person to person:
there are some people who can walk but there are others who need assistance or there are some
people with an intellectual disability but others do not.

The most common are:

- Muscle weakness,
- Loss of muscle coordination,
- Problems with balance and coordination,
- Problems with learning,
- Problems with eating (for example swallowing),
- Uncontrolled body movements.

These symptoms can be mild or severe.

Risk factors

The cause remains unknown for a lot of babies with CP.

The risk factors for CP are:

- Pregnancy complications,
- Maternal infections,
- Injury in the baby’s brain,
- Gene mutations,
- Lack of oxygen.

Treatment

This disease can’t be treated but children with CP can benefit from many services of a team of
health professionals like:

- Mobility,
- Eating and drinking,
- Learning,

The physiotherapists can help the baby with different tasks for example sitting, walking, dressing
and using the toilet and the experts can help him/her with learning, communication and emotional
issues.
 EPILEPSY

Epilepsy is a long-term brain disease that affects around 50 million people in the world.
Individuals are diagnosed with epilepsy when they have two or more seizures which are brief
episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body or the entire body.
Usually, a seizure lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes.

There are 2 major types of seizures:

1) Generalized seizures that affect both the brain,

2) Focal seizures that affect just one area of the brain.

Symptoms

The symptoms can vary and depend on where in the brain, the disturbance first starts.
We can have temporary symptoms for example loss of awareness and disturbances of movement,
sensation, mood or other cognitive functions.
There are people with epilepsy who have physical problems and psychological conditions including
the depression and the anxiety.

Causes

The cause of epilepsy is still unknown but genetics play an important role.

The most common are:

- Head injury or trauma,

- Stroke,
- Brain infection,
- Brain malformations,
- Genetic factors.

Treatment

There are many people who can treat people with epilepsy. For example, pediatricians and nurse
practitioners are often the first people to see a person with epilepsy. They can make the diagnosis or
can talk with a neurologist or epileptologist.

There are many things a person with epilepsy can do to stop seizures.
The most common treatments are:

- Medicine like anti-seizure drugs that limit the spread of seizures in the brain,
- Surgery,
- Other treatments when medicines don’t work or surgery isn’t possible.
 MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system. It’s more
common in women than men. This condition can cause a wide range of symptoms including
problems with vision, arms or leg movement.
MS means that there is damage to the protective sheath (known as myelin) that covers the nerve
fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.
MB can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms can vary from person to person and depend on the amount of nerve damage
and which nerves are affected. For example, there are people who have lost the ability to walk
independently.

The most common include:

- Weakness,
- Difficulty walking,
- Loss of coordination,
- Problems with balance and coordination,
- Problems with thinking, learning and planning.

Causes

MS is an autoimmune condition and the cause is still unknown. We don’t know why MS develops
in some people and not others. Probably, there is a combination of genetics and environmental
factors.
It’s important to remember that there are different risk factors that can increase the risk of
developing MS for example age (around 40 years), sex (women), family history, climate, Vitamin
D, autoimmune disease (thyroid disease, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes), smoking.

Treatment

There’s currently no cure for people who suffer from MS but there are a lot of treatment that can
help people to control the condition.

It may include:

- Specific treatments for individual MS symptoms,

- Specific therapies to reduce the number of relapses.