Brain Diseases (Print Version)

The brain is the control center of the body. It controls thoughts, memory, speech and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. However, when problems occur, the results can be devastating.

Inflammation in the brain can lead to problems such as vision loss, weakness and paralysis. Loss of brain cells, which happens if you suffer a stroke, can affect your ability to think clearly. Brain tumors can also press on nerves and affect brain function. Some brain diseases are genetic. And we do not know what causes some brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.

The symptoms of brain diseases vary widely depending on the specific problem. In some cases, damage is permanent. In other cases, treatments such as surgery, medicines or physical therapy can correct the source of the problem or improve symptoms.

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

Computed Tomography (CT): Head(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=headct
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=headct
Diagnostic Methods: Electrophysiology(We Move) - http://www.mdvu.org/library/pediatric/diagnostics/dia_exa_electro.asp
Functional MR Imaging (fMRI): Brain(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain
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

Treatment

Gamma-knife Radiosurgery(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/gamma-knife-radiosurgery/MY00206/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
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
Cerebral Atrophy(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_atrophy/cerebral_atrophy.htm
Corticobasal Degeneration(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/corticobasal_degeneration/corticobasal_degeneration.htm
Cysts in the Brain(American Brain Tumor Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.abta.org/sitefiles/sitePages/4F77F57A14D6EBBE5C3FBC447B78FD57.pdf
Encephalopathy(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalopathy/encephalopathy.htm
Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neuroaxonal_dystrophy/neuroaxonal_dystrophy.htm
Kuru(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm
Neuronal Migration Disorders(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neuronal_migration/neuronal_migration.htm
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pml/pml.htm

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

Games

The Split Brain Experiment(Nobel Foundation) - Requires Flash Player - http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/split-brain/

Anatomy/Physiology

Anatomy of the Brain(American Association of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/anatomy1.asp
Atlas of the Body: The Brain -- Lobes(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZR9WH46JC&sub_cat=185
Atlas of the Body: The Brain -- Side View(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZYUAM46JC&sub_cat=185
Brain and Nervous System(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/brain_nervous_system.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/brain_nervous_system_esp.html
Interactive Tour of the Brain(National Brain Tumor Foundation) - http://www.braintumor.org/patent_info/Surviving/brain_anatomy/index.html

Clinical Trials

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

Research

Adult Neurogenesis(Society for Neuroscience) - http://web.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBriefings_adult_neurogenesis
In Jazz Improv, Large Portion of Brain's Prefrontal Region 'Takes Five' to Let Creativity Flow(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/releases/08/02_26_08.htm

Journal Articles

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

Article: Application of neuroendoscopy to intraventricular lesions. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18596446&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: The application of stereotactic radiosurgery to disorders of the brain. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18596434&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Neonatal cranial ultrasound lesions and developmental delays at 2 years... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762501&tool=MedlinePlus
Brain Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=brain+diseases[majr:noexp]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

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

Organizations

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Newsletters/Print Publications

BrainWork(Dana Foundation) - http://www.dana.org/news/brainwork/

Law and Policy

Employment Rights and Job Retraining Resources for Brain Tumor Survivors(American Brain Tumor Association) - http://www.abta.org/index.cfm?contentid=89&itemtype=2

Children

Periventricular Leukomalacia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/periventricular_leukomalacia/periventricular_leukomalacia.htm

Teenagers

Adolescent Brain(Society for Neuroscience) - http://web.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBriefings_Adolescent_brain

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Alzheimer's Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alzheimersdisease.html
Brain Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/braincancer.html
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/creutzfeldtjakobdisease.html
Degenerative Nerve Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/degenerativenervediseases.html
Dementia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dementia.html
Encephalitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encephalitis.html
Epilepsy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/epilepsy.html
Genetic Brain Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/geneticbraindisorders.html
Head and Brain Malformations - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/headandbrainmalformations.html
Hydrocephalus - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hydrocephalus.html
Stroke - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html

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

Brain Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/braindiseases.html