Transcript Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy
Cause unknown but may be due to
birth injury or abnormal brain
development
 It is present at birth
 Symptoms include:
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Spastic quadriplegia
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Head Rolling
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Grimacing
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Difficulty with speech and
swallowing
NORMAL INTELLIGENCE!
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Cerebral Palsy Treatments
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy
No Cure!
Treat Symptoms!!
Parkinson’s Disease
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Caused by a decrease
of the neurotransmitter
dopamine.
Etiology is unknown
though recent research
has focused on
looking for a specific
gene
Parkinson’s Disease
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Symptoms:
Tremors
Shuffling Gait
Pill-Rolling
Muscular Rigidity
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Treatment:
L-dopa and other
drugs to treat symptoms
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Inflammation of the brain
Cause – virus or chemical
Most common cause is
herpes simplex virus that
leads to hemorrhage of the
temporal lobes or viruses
from mosquitoes or animals
Symptoms
Fever
Lethargy
Extreme Weakness
Visual disturbances
Encephalitis
Epilepsy
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Seizure disorder of the
brain, characterized by
recurring and excessive
discharge from neurons
Seizures believed to be a
result of spontaneous
uncontrolled electrical
activity of neurons
Cause – Uncertain
Diagnosed with EEG
(electroencephalogram)
Epilepsy
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Victims may have
hallucinations and seizures
Two types of seizures
1. Grand Mal – severe,
convulsive seizure.
2. Petit Mal – milder
(sometimes like someone
is just staring)
Treatment is
anticonvulsant medications
Dementia
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Loss of 2 areas of complex
behavior, such as language,
memory, visual and spatial
abilities, or judgement
Interferes with person’s
daily life.
Alzheimer’s Disease
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Progressive disease that
begins with problems
remembering
Nerve endings in cortex of
brain degenerate and block
signals that pass between
nerve cells
Abnormal fibers build up
creating tangles
Cause is unknown
Alzheimer’s Disease
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First Stage (2-4 years)
 Confusion
 Short Term Memory Loss
 Anxiety
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Poor Judgement
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Alzheimer’s Disease
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2nd Stage (2-10 years)
Increase in memory
loss
Difficulty recognizing
people
Motor problems
Logic problems
Loss of social skills
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3rd Stage (1-3 years)
Inability to recognize
oneself
Weight loss
Seizures
Mood swings
Aphasia ***
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
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Chronic inflammatory
disease of the CNS
Immune cells attack myelin
sheath of axon – myelin
sheath destroyed, leaving
scar tissue on the nerve
cells.
Transmission of impulses
blocked
Cause unknown
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Symptoms:
Weakness of extremities
Numbness
Double Vision
Nystagmus
Speech problems
Loss of coordination
Possible paralysis
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Usually strikes young adults
age 20-40, mostly women
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Rx – Avonex – slows
progression
Multiple
Sclerosis
Bell’s Palsy
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7th Cranial nerve involved
Victim seems to have a stroke on
one side of the face
Eye does not close properly
The mouth droops
Numbness on the effected side
Cause – unknown
Symptoms disappear within a few
weeks
Trigeminal Neuralgia
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Involves 5th cranial
nerve
Cause – unknown
Onset – rapid
Symptoms - Severe
pain brought on by
mild stimuli that lasts
2-5 seconds
Rx – analgesics or
removal of nerve
Sciatica
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Form of neuritis that affects the
sciatic nerve
May be rupture of lumbar disc or
arthritic changes
Symptoms – pain which radiates
through buttock, behind knee and
down to foot
Rx – traction, physical therapy,
possible surgery
Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA)
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Stroke or CVA
Interruption of blood
and oxygen to the
brain
Tissue death occurs
Third leading cause of
death in the USA
Cerebral Vascular Accident
(CVA)
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Risk Factors:
Smoking
Hypertension
Heart Disease
Family History
Causes of CVA’s
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90% caused by blood
clots in the brain or
the carotid arteries
Clots lodge in carotid
arteries, blocking the
flow of blood to the
brain
10% caused by
ruptured blood vessels
in brain( aneurysm)
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Symptoms of CVA
Hemiplegia on opposite side
of the body
 Sudden severe headache
 Dizziness
 Sudden loss of vision in
one eye
 Aphasia
 Dysphasia
 Coma
 Possible Death
Treatment of CVA
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1. Get to the hospital
immediately!
2. CAT scan done to
determine etiology
3. If a clot, treatment
aimed at dissolving the
clot – usually use TPA
The “golden hour”.
Prevention of CVAs
If TIAs – one aspirin a
day
 Stop smoking
 Exercise and lose
weight
 Control hypertension
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Types of Paralysis
Paralysis – Loss of power of motion or sensation
 Hemiplegic – paralysis on one side of body –
usually seen with strokes ( hemi- one half)
 Quadriplegia – paralysis of all four extremities
 Paraplegia – paralysis of a “pair” of extremities
only. “pair of legs” or “pair of arms”
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Diagnostic Tests for the Brain
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MRI – Magnetic
Resonance Imaging –
uses a magnetic field
along with a radio
frequency to produce
cross-section images of
the body.
Patient inserted into
chamber build within a
huge magnet
Diagnostic Tests of the Brain
CAT Scan –
(Computerized Axial
Tomography)
 Combines X-ray
emission with nuclear
medicine – produces
cross-sectional images
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Diagnostic Tests
 Electroencephalogr
am (EEG) –
recording of the
electrical activity of
the brain