The 15 most common neurological disorders

Understand, feel, perceive, reason, plan, infer, relate… All these processes are carried out and / or mediated by the brain.

This body organizes and supervises all the functions of the human body. However, the health of this organ is not always optimal, and accidents or illnesses may occur that affect its proper functioning. This causes a series of serious effects on the body as a whole, which may lead to its death. This is the case with neurological disorders.

What are neurological diseases?

Neurological disorders are those pathologies located at any point of the nervous system, either in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves and nerve extensions, altering their proper functioning. The symptoms of these disorders can be very varied, being able to produce both a deficit and an excess of neuronal activity in any system of the organism. The causes depend on the disorder, and may even be unknown today.

Among the best known, we find the group of dementiasBut these are not the only group of neurological disorders that exist. Conditions such as epilepsy, tumors or other disorders are also among the most common neurological disorders.

The most common neurological disorders

These are the fifteen neurological disorders that occur most frequently.

1. Strokes

Although it is not a single disorder since it encompasses a set of possible problems, cardiovascular accidents are currently one of the three leading causes of death in the world. These accidents can have a very different cause, course and effects depending on the affected area.

Basically they can be classified as cerebral hemorrhage, that is, the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain that produces a flood in the brain that kills the surrounding neurons by compression, and ischemia or stroke that are produced before the cessation of blood supply to a part of the brain, generally due to a thrombus or access that prevents irrigation in the area.

Anyways, neuronal death is caused that will have serious effects on the functions and domains of the person, which can lead to death, vascular dementia, acquired disorders due to brain injury or even a temporary loss of some function with full recovery in the event of a stroke transient.

2. Alzheimer disease

The best-known dementia is also one of the most common neurological disorders in the population. This disorder, Alzheimer's, is an insidious and progressive onset dementia that begins with recent memory loss and anomie (Difficulty finding the name of things). This disorder evolves through three phases, producing a progressive deterioration in all intellectual functions and autonomy.

Thus, as the disorder progresses, difficulties appear in the second phase in speech, praxis or sequenced movements and in the recognition of people and objects (being this set of symptoms called the aphasic-apraxo-agnosic syndrome) and over time in the third phase these conditions worsen, culminating in the bedridden and mutism of the patient. While a specific cause is not yet known, At the neurological level, the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques has been observed., especially in the temporal and parietal lobes.

3. Parkinson's disease

This disease is also one of the most common neurological disorders. At the neurological level, the existence of a degeneration of the nigrostriatal system has been observed, which entails a deficit of neurotransmitters dopamine Y GABA in this system. The best known and most characteristic symptom of this disorder are parkinsonian or resting tremors, which manifest with spasmodic jerking of the distal limbs (especially the hands) that occur in a state of rest. In addition to this, other prominent symptoms of this disease are the presence of high demotivation, gait disturbances, lack of blinking and facial expression, and poor movement.

Subcortical dementia may develop over the years, although it does not occur in all cases. If it occurs, the mental and physical slowing down, the failure to recover memory and the presence of difficulties in executive and visuospatial tasks stand out.

4. Tension headache

Headache is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system in the world, headache. Within the group of headaches, among which we find subtypes such as tension headache and cluster headache, migraine and tension headache stand out especially

When it comes to tension headaches, its onset is generally related to stress or muscle problems.

There are two basic subtypes of headache, episodic and chronic.. The first appears in attacks of a short duration, being the most frequent type of headache. The second causes a much greater disability by persisting for a much longer period of time. The pain is mild or moderate.

5. Migraine

Migraine, mostly genetically based, is caused by the release of inflammatory substances around nerves and blood vessels of the head. It is usually a recurring condition throughout life. Moderate or severe headache, nausea and intolerance to light and sound stand out, the pain aggravating with activity.

5. Epilepsy

Brain disorder that occurs when brain cells send wrong signals. Within this disorder there are crises of great evil and those of small evil. The former are the best known, characterized by the presence of loss of consciousness followed by seizures, incontinence, tongue biting and hallucinations. In the latter there are no seizures, characterized by a mental absence.

Normally, seizures are preceded by an aura, initial sensations that the affected person can detect such as a previous tingling, hallucinations or clouding (confusion). The etiology of this disorder it can be very diverse, and may be due, among other things, to the presence of brain tumors, head injuries, atypical development of the nervous system or other disorders and diseases.

6. Multiple sclerosis

Chronic progressive disorder of the central nervous system caused by the insufficient myelin production in neurons of the white matter substance. There is a progressive demyelination of neurons. Although there are several possible courses for this disease, in general multiple sclerosis courses in a fluctuating, that is, in the form of outbreaks that are disappearing and improving, with a worsening progressive.

Although the specific symptoms of each moment will depend on the affected areas, symptoms being frequent alterations visual and sensitive, motor weakness, pain and fatigue, spasticity or perceived muscle tension and hemiparesis, among others. Although there is no cure so far, attempts are being made to develop some promising drugs.

7. Brain tumors

Brain tumors are also among the most common neurological disorders. They are produced by the uncontrolled and abnormal growth of some type of brain material, and may appear in neurons, glia or meninges. Although there is a broad classification of brain tumors according to the type of cell that produces it and its behavior, all of them are highly dangerous to the life of the patient, even tumors of the benign behavior.

This is because the progressive growth of matter causes great pressure from the rest of the brain against the skull, displacing structures, deforming and crushing them. The specific symptoms depend, as in the case of cerebrovascular accidents, on the location of the tumor and the areas it affects directly or indirectly.

8. Duschene muscular dystrophy

It is the most common muscular dystrophy in humans, especially in men.. This neuromuscular disorder, usually of childhood onset, has as its main symptom a generalized muscle weakness that develops progressively and chronically. Over time, it causes difficulties in walking and even breathing, with death being frequent in young adulthood due to problems such as heart failure.

9. Meningitis

Bacterial or viral infection that affects the meninges or membranes that protect the nervous system, producing inflammation of these and affecting the nervous system as a whole. Febrile symptoms, nausea, photophobia, severe headaches, and altered consciousness or mental status are common. Although immediate intervention is required, it is a medical condition that can be reversed, although its consequences may remain chronic.

10. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

This disease, popularized in recent times by the well-known Ice Bucket Challenge campaign, is a progressive neurological disorder that attacks motor cells, degenerating them to cell death.

In this disease, the neurons stop sending messages to the voluntary muscles, which end up atrophying, preventing movement and speech. Over time, this affects the thoracic muscles and the diaphragm, requiring artificial respiration and respiratory arrest being a probable cause of death. The damage affects only the motor neurons, so that cognitive abilities are preserved.

11. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The ADHD it is a disorder diagnosed in childhood very frequently and, however, it is highly controversial. The reason for this is that the diagnostic criteria to identify it are very ambiguous, and it is estimated that many times it is detected in boys and girls who do not really present it; that is, false positives appear and over-medicate.

In fact, little is known about this neurological disorder, other than that it causes the brain to function abnormally judging from what has been seen. by neuroimaging methods and that this fits with the descriptions of young people who experience serious concentration problems even taking into account their age.

12. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

This concept groups together a set of symptoms related to problems understanding non-literal aspects of language, socializing and display prosocial behavior. In addition, in more than half of the cases these problems appear together with intellectual disability.

• Related article: "Autism Spectrum Disorders: 10 symptoms and diagnosis"

13. Dyslexia

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disorders, and consists of an abnormal functioning of the brain that makes the task of reading very complicated, that is, extracting meanings and vocalizations from a series of symbols.

14. Tourette syndrome

People with this condition are unable to control a series of repetitive movements similar to highly elaborate tics. This affects both their social life and their quality of life in general, since it is an intrusive element that generates stress and prevents concentration.

15. Dyscalculia

Similar to dyslexia, this neurological disorder is not in itself a threat to health, but an alteration of the ability to learn. In this case, what it costs is to perform mathematical operations and manipulate numbers in general.

Bibliographic references:

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