Cerebral Palsy

1. Cerebral Palsy • Cause unknown but may be due to birth injury or abnormal brain development • It is present at birth • Symptoms include: • Spastic quadriplegia • Head Rolling • Grimacing • Difficulty with speech and swallowing NORMAL INTELLIGENCE!

2. Cerebral Palsy Treatments Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy Speech Therapy No Cure! Treat Symptoms!!

3. Parkinson’s Disease • Caused by a decrease of the neurotransmitter dopamine. • Etiology is unknown though recent research has focused on looking for a specific gene

4. Parkinson’s Disease • Symptoms: • Tremors • Shuffling Gait • Pill-Rolling • Muscular Rigidity • Treatment: • L-dopa and other drugs to treat symptoms

5. Encephalitis • 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

6. Epilepsy • 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)

7. Epilepsy • 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

8. Dementia • Loss of 2 areas of complex behavior, such as language, memory, visual and spatial abilities, or judgement • Interferes with person’s daily life.

9. Alzheimer’s Disease • 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

10. Alzheimer’s Disease • First Stage (2-4 years) • Confusion • Short Term Memory Loss • Anxiety • Poor Judgement

11. 2nd Stage (2-10 years) Increase in memory loss Difficulty recognizing people Motor problems Logic problems Loss of social skills 3rd Stage (1-3 years) Inability to recognize oneself Weight loss Seizures Mood swings Aphasia *** Alzheimer’s Disease

12. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) • 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

13. Multiple Sclerosis • Symptoms: • Weakness of extremities • Numbness • Double Vision • Nystagmus • Speech problems • Loss of coordination • Possible paralysis • Usually strikes young adults age 20-40, mostly women • Rx – Avonex – slows progression

14. Bell’s Palsy • 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

15. Trigeminal Neuralgia • 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

16. Sciatica • 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

17. Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) • Stroke or CVA • Interruption of blood and oxygen to the brain • Tissue death occurs • Third leading cause of death in the USA

18. Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) • Risk Factors: • Smoking • Hypertension • Heart Disease • Family History

19. Causes of CVA’s • 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)

20. 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

21. Treatment of CVA • 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”.

22. Prevention of CVAs • If TIAs – one aspirin a day • Stop smoking • Exercise and lose weight • Control hypertension

23. 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”

24. Diagnostic Tests for the Brain • 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

25. Diagnostic Tests of the Brain • CAT Scan – (Computerized Axial Tomography) • Combines X-ray emission with nuclear medicine – produces cross-sectional images

26. Diagnostic Tests • Electroencephalogram (EEG) –recording of the electrical activity of the brain