Brain, Spine and Neurological Disorders

(Meningioma, acoustic neuroma, acoustic schwannoma, pinecdoma, glioma)

A brain tumor is any abnormal growth or mass that develops in the skull space usually occupied exclusively by the brain. It may be noncancerous or malignant; both types of growths are potentially life threatening because they encroach on normal brain tissue, which, because of the surrounding skull, becomes compressed.
Symptoms include severe or persistent headaches, personality changes, increased irritability and moodiness, unusual sleepiness, unexplained nausea and vomiting, paralysis, and balance problems. There may also be some deficits of the senses, including hearing, vision, speech, taste, and smell.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects basic functions, including movement, speech, and posture. Between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans have it in varying degrees. There are several types including: spastic, in which movement is stiff and difficult; athctoid, in which movement is involuntary or uncontrolled; ataxic, in which balance and depth perception are abnormal; and mixed, a combination of types.

Any inflammation of the brain is referred to as encephalitis. The most common type, viral encephalitis, may be primary or secondary. Organisms that cause primary encephalitis include the polio, Coxsackie, and Type 1 herpes simplex viruses, as well as tick- or mosquito-borne arboviruses, which sometimes cause outbreaks of equine encephalitis in the summer.

(Acute Bacterial, Aseptic Viral, and Subacute Meningitis)

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. The most common and acute types are caused by bacteria, typically meningococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), or pneumococcus.

Multiple sclerosis, a chronic, slowly progressive disease of the central nervous system, is characterized by patchy destruction and scarring (sclerosis) of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding nerves in the spinal cord and brain. In time, the sclerosis interferes with transmission of nerve signals, producing a wide range of symptoms that vary from person to person. These commonly include numbness, weakness, tremor, poor coordination, an abnormal gait, loss of bladder and bowel control, and impotence in men. Vision and hearing may be impaired and there might be memory loss, confusion, and speech problems. Symptoms lessen or disappear during periods of remission, but relapses occur in which old problems worsen and new ones develop.

The human spine has 33 vertebrae separated by disks made of cartilage and fibrous tissue that act as cushions. These disks have a tough outer portion, the annuius fibrosis, which holds the pulpy inner nucleus in place. If the annuius weakens or becomes stretched, the nucleus bulges out, resulting in a so-called slipped disk. Depending on the extent of the abnormality, more accurate medical terms are a bulging, herniated, extruded, ruptured, or prolapsed disk.

Scoliosis, an exaggerated sideways curvature of the spine, comes from the Greek term for curved or askew. Very few people have perfectly straight spines, but to qualify as scoliosis, the curvature must be more than 10 degrees. The abnormality often affects the symmetry of the shoulders, hips, or rib cage. but in some cases, double curves may balance each other without affecting the shoulders or hips.