Neurologic Diseases (Print Version)

Neurologic diseases are disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves throughout your body. Together they control all the workings of the body. When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing or learning. You can also have problems with your memory, senses or mood.

There are more than 600 neurologic diseases. Major types include

Diseases caused by faulty genes, such as Huntington's disease and muscular dystrophy
Problems with the way the nervous system develops, such as spina bifida
Degenerative diseases, where nerve cells are damaged or die, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Diseases of the blood vessels that supply the brain, such as stroke
Injuries to the spinal cord and brain
Seizure disorders, such as epilepsy
Cancer, such as brain tumors
infections, such as meningitis

Start Here

Brain Basics: Know Your Brain(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/know_your_brain.htm

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Diagnostic Methods: Electrophysiology(We Move) - http://www.mdvu.org/library/pediatric/diagnostics/dia_exa_electro.asp
Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Velocities(Muscular Dystrophy Association) - http://www.mda.org/publications/Quest/q75ss.html
JAMA Patient Page: Lumbar Puncture(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/16/2050.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/296/16/2050/DC1/1
Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/lumbar_puncture.html
Neurological Diagnostic Tests and Procedures(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/diagnostico_neurologico.htm
Physical Examination: Diagnosis of Neurological Disorders(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/au/sec06/ch077/ch077c.html

Treatment

Neurosurgery - What Is It?(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/whatisneurosurgery/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/whatisneurosurgeryspanish/htm/index.htm

Specific Conditions

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/acute_encephalomyelitis/acute_encephalomyelitis.htm
Agnosia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/agnosia/agnosia.htm
Alternating Hemiplegia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alternatinghemiplegia/alternatinghemiplegia.htm
Apraxia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/apraxia/apraxia.htm
Apraxia of Speech(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/apraxia.asp
Arachnoid Cysts(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/arachnoid_cysts/arachnoid_cysts.htm
Autonomic Neuropathy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/autonomic-neuropathy/DS00544/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Dysautonomia (Autonomic Dysfunction)(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dysautonomia/dysautonomia.htm
Dyssynergia Cerebellaris Myoclonica(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dyssynergia/dyssynergia.htm
Holmes-Adie Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/holmes_adie/holmes_adie.htm
Klüver-Bucy Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kluver_bucy/kluver_bucy.htm
Motor Neuron Diseases(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/motor_neuron_diseases/detail_motor_neuron_diseases.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/enfermedades_de_la_neurona_motora.htm
Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neuroleptic_syndrome/neuroleptic_syndrome.htm
Neurosarcoidosis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neurosarcoidosis/neurosarcoidosis.htm
Neurotoxicity(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neurotoxicity/neurotoxicity.htm
Paresthesia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/paresthesia/paresthesia.htm
Prosopagnosia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/prosopagnosia/Prosopagnosia.htm
Schilder's Disease(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/schilders/schilders.htm
Striatonigral Degeneration(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/striatonigral_degeneration/striatonigral_degeneration.htm
Sturge-Weber Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sturge_weber/sturge_weber.htm
Transverse Myelitis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/transversemyelitis/detail_transversemyelitis.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/mielitis_transversa.htm

Related Issues

Caring for a Loved One with Neurologic Disorder(American Academy of Neurology Foundation) - http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.3.2
Working with Your Doctor(American Academy of Neurology Foundation) - http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.2.1

Tutorials

Neurosurgery - What Is It?(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/whatisneurosurgery/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/whatisneurosurgeryspanish/htm/index.htm

Anatomy/Physiology

Atlas of the Body: The Nervous System(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZB2KOBGJC&sub_cat=185
Atlas of the Body: The Nervous System -- Groups of Nerves(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZCLJKBGJC&sub_cat=185
Autonomic Nervous System(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4463

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Nervous System Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Nervous+System+Diseases%22

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: Abetalipoproteinemia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=abetalipoproteinemia
Genetics Home Reference: Chorea-acanthocytosis(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=choreaacanthocytosis
Genetics Home Reference: Episodic ataxia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=episodicataxia
Genetics Home Reference: Familial dysautonomia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=familialdysautonomia
Genetics Home Reference: GM2-gangliosidosis, AB variant(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=gm2gangliosidosisabvariant
Genetics Home Reference: Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=infantileneuroaxonaldystrophy
Genetics Home Reference: L1 syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=l1syndrome
Genetics Home Reference: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=leschnyhansyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: Lowe syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=lowesyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: McLeod neuroacanthocytosis syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=mcleodneuroacanthocytosissyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: Sandhoff disease(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=sandhoffdisease
Genetics Home Reference: Williams syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=williamssyndrome

Research

Neurological Imaging(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF - http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/Neuroimaging.pdf

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: PTEN signaling in brain: neuropathology and tumorigenesis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18794877&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Cannabinoids as therapeutic agents for ablating neuroinflammatory disease. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18782012&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Monoclonal antibody therapies and neurologic disorders. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18779418&tool=MedlinePlus
Neurologic Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(nervous+system+diseases[majr:noexp]+OR+nervous+system+malformations[majr:noexp])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+systematic[sb]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Glossary of Neurosurgical Terms(American Association of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/glossary.asp
Neurological Diagnostic Tests Glossary(American Association of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/glossary.asp
Short Answer: Definitions for Common Neuroscience Terms(Society for Neuroscience) - http://web.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBackgrounders_theShortAnswer

Directories

Find a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon(American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/findaneuro/
Find a Neurologist(American Academy of Neurology) - http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.2.2
Find a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician(American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - http://www.e-aapmr.org/imis/imisonline/findphys/find.cfm

Organizations

Congress of Neurological Surgeons - http://www.neurosurgeon.org/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/
Society for Neuroscience - http://web.sfn.org/

Children

EEG (Electroencephalography)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/eeg.html
EMG (Electromyography)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/emg.html
Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neuroaxonal_dystrophy/neuroaxonal_dystrophy.htm
Neurocutaneous Syndromes(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/neurocutaneous.html
Neurological Examination(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1350/mainpageS1350P0.html
Ohtahara Syndrome(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/ohtahara/ohtahara.htm
What Is a Pediatric Neurosurgeon?(American Academy of Pediatrics) - Links to PDF - http://www.aap.org/sections/sap/he3005.pdf

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Autonomic Nervous System Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/autonomicnervoussystemdisorders.html
Brain Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/braindiseases.html
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complexregionalpainsyndrome.html
Epilepsy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/epilepsy.html
Meningitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/meningitis.html
Movement Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/movementdisorders.html
Neuromuscular Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/neuromusculardisorders.html
Parkinson's Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html
Peripheral Nerve Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/peripheralnervedisorders.html
Spinal Cord Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spinalcorddiseases.html
Tourette Syndrome - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tourettesyndrome.html
Trigeminal Neuralgia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/trigeminalneuralgia.html
Von Hippel-Lindau Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vonhippellindaudisease.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Neurologic Diseases is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Neurologic Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/neurologicdiseases.html