Civista Affiliated Neurologists

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Neurology

UPDATED: March 29, 2007

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Neurology is a branch of medicine that studies the nervous system: its structure, functions, norm and pathology, influence on other organs, and treatment. Neurology is closely related to many disciplines in medicine, for example, anatomy, physiology, neurogenetics, angiology, psychiatry. Any diseases of the nervous system are also called neurology.

Neurological diseases are one of the most common categories of diseases in the world. Neurological ailments can develop at any age, even in the womb. Цith age (as the influence of unfavorable factors of life and work, due to age-related changes or due to injury), the prevalence of these diseases only increases.

Symptoms in neurology

The peculiarity of neurological conditions is that the entire human body is permeated with nerves, respectively, pain syndrome or dysfunction can occur absolutely anywhere. Nevertheless, you can list the typical complaints in neurology:

dizziness;
noise in ears;
headache;
general weakness and fatigue;
sleep disorders (difficulty falling asleep, shallow and intermittent sleep, insomnia, constant sleepiness);
loss of appetite or uncontrolled binge eating;
numbness of the limbs, head, face, various areas of the skin;
convulsions;
pain in the neck, chest and ribs, lower back, buttocks;
tremors of various body parts, paresis or paralysis;
violation of perception;
disturbances of consciousness (state of stunnedness, loss of consciousness, light-headedness);
disorders of attention and memory (problems of short-term memorization, amnesia);
speech disorders (pronunciation, understanding, reproduction);
increased anxiety, obsessive thoughts;
irascibility, irritability;
tearfulness and a sense of doom;
apathy and indifference to everything.

Often in neurology, nonspecific symptoms are also recorded: heart pain, joints, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract (stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, nervous diarrhea), tense and heavy breathing, loss of voice.

Diseases of the nervous system

There are many types of neurology: diseases of the central or peripheral nervous system, separately diseases of the brain or spinal cord. However, there is a difficulty in identifying purely neurological problems, and some of them are in areas bordering with psychiatry. There are diseases that can be treated equally by a neurologist and a psychiatrist (for example, depression, epilepsy). Nevertheless, for any of the above symptoms, first of all it is worth contacting a neurologist, in whose competence:

vegetative-vascular dystonia;
asthenic syndrome;
migraine;
diseases of the spine (osteochondrosis, spondylolisthesis, arthrosis of the joints of the spine, intervertebral hernias and protrusions) in the early stages;
paralysis (of various origins);
circulatory brain disorders (strokes, transient ischemia);
vertebral artery syndrome;
intracranial hypertension;
inflammation of the brain or spinal cord (meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis);
various encephalopathies;
hydroencephalus;
tumors of the brain or spinal cord;
epilepsy;
multiple sclerosis;
Alzheimer's disease;
Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism;
senile dementia;
mild mental retardation (debility);
autism (Asperger's syndrome);
hyperactivity;
hyperkinesis, tremors, nervous tics;
arthralgia and myalgia;
sciatica (pinching of the sciatic nerve);
neuritis and neuralgia;
radicular syndrome;
neuropathy;
anorexia and bulimia;
depression;
hysteria;
chronic fatigue syndrome;
hypersomnia, narcolepsy;
neuroses, sleep and appetite disorders;
panic attack, phobias;
psychoses (various delusions and manias, multiple personality disorder, depersonalization).

Here is a far from complete list of neurological diseases, but we can say that most of the diseases known to mankind are in one way or another related to neurology.

Diagnostic and treatment methods in neurology

In neurology, there are several ways to obtain information about a disease:

collection of anamnesis and registration of objective data;
neurological tests for reflexes;
hardware studies: computed or magnetic resonance imaging, EEG (electroencephalography), neuromyography, radiography, ultrasound, Doppler, ECG;
laboratory tests: blood, smears, lumbar fluid, tissue cytology.

Neurological treatment is usually a long-lasting process, since many neuro diseases tend to become chronic, even with long periods of remission.

Depending on the patient's condition, therapeutic measures can be:

urgent (to restore vital functions);
medication (to maintain vital functions, including in a coma);
medications aimed at improving nerve patency, accelerating the restoration of nerve connections, blood thinning, muscle relaxants, chondroprotectors, nootropics, neuroprotectors, sedatives and antidepressants, pain relievers, specific drugs for infections, multiple sclerosis, oncology, vitamin therapy;
surgical intervention after injuries, to remove tumors, to restore the patency of blood vessels, in the treatment of malformations;
physiotherapy: manual therapy, massages, exercise therapy courses, acupuncture, treatment with magnets and ultrasound;
rehabilitation after a stroke, with Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, after concussions and spinal injuries;
preventive measures (a healthy lifestyle, adequate physical activity, good nutrition, timely rest, the formation of personal space with minimal stress).

Different neurological diseases require different treatment conditions. For example, vasomotor dyscrasia and neuralgia can be treated at home, cerebrovascular accident requires urgent hospitalization at a neurological center, and recovery from spinal cord injuries is best done in a rehabilitation center.

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