Today there are many known diseases of the nervous system. They have a variety of symptoms of varying severity. In some cases, infrequent headaches are observed, in others - severe pain and even paralysis. Therefore, even at the first, most minor signs of illness, it is recommended to consult a neurologist in order to begin treatment as early as possible.
Vascular pathologies
Circulatory disorders have a particularly severe impact on the brain, which is very sensitive to a lack of oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, the consequences can be very serious:
- Stroke is the death of part of the brain cells due to a sudden disruption of blood flow (destruction or complete blockage of blood vessels). Very often, patients cannot fully undergo rehabilitation, which results in lifelong disability of group 1.
- Atherosclerosis is the loss of elasticity of blood vessels, the formation of cholesterol deposits and blood clots on the inner surface.
- An aneurysm is a thinning of the walls of blood vessels, the formation of a seal that can rupture, leading to serious consequences. Death is often observed.
Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases are associated with the penetration of fungi, bacteria or viruses into the spinal cord or brain. Exposure to pathogenic microorganisms can lead to the following diseases:
- Meningitis is a lesion of the membrane of the brain or spinal cord, accompanied by active inflammatory processes.
- Syphilis of the nervous system is a dangerous pathology that can even spread to the entire system (10% of the total number of cases). Possible consequences are paralysis and death.
- Encephalitis is an infectious inflammation of the brain that can cause serious damage and death.
- Poliomyelitis is an infection that affects all organs of the nervous system. Caused by a pathogenic virus, the consequences of the disease can affect throughout life.
Polyneuritis and polyneuropathy of peripheral nerves
Polyneuritis is multiple lesions of peripheral nerves of infectious origin.
Polyneuropathy is toxic damage to the nerves as a result of intoxication of the body, metabolic disorders, allergic reactions, and circulatory disorders. If, along with the nerves, their radicular part is affected, then polyradiculoneuritis is determined.
Anatomically, with polyradiculoneuritis, inflammatory changes (edema, hyperemia, infiltration) of the roots are determined, and signs of myelin decay and degeneration of the axial cylinders are visible in the peripheral nerves. Moreover, if the pathological process is limited to mesenchial formations of the membranes and vessels, then this is interstitial neuritis. If it is accompanied by damage to nerve fibers (demyelination, disintegration of axial cylinders), then it is interstitial-parenchymal neuritis. With polyneuropathies, degenerative changes in nerves occur with a predominance of decay of their myelin sheaths or nerve fibers.
Polyneuritis and polyneuropathy are manifested by pain and paresthesia in the distal parts of the extremities, peripheral paralysis, sensitivity disorders of the “glove” and “sock” type and vegetative-trophic disorders (dryness, thinning of the skin or its hyperkeratosis, cyanosis, trophic ulcers).
Infectious polyneuritis of viral etiology is characterized by an acute onset with general malaise, fever, pain and paresthesia in the extremities.
Subsequently, weakness, atrophy, paralysis of the muscles of the arms and legs, and sensory disturbances develop. The nerve trunks are sharply painful on palpation. Reversal of symptoms is slow.
Treatment includes antiviral drugs, antibiotics, analgesics, corticosteroids, vitamins, and biostimulants.
Acute infectious polyradiculoneuritis usually occurs in the cold season and begins acutely with a rise in temperature, catarrhal symptoms, pain and paresthesia in the distal extremities. Sensitivity disorders of the peripheral type, pain in the nerve trunks, tension symptoms, distal paralysis and vegetative-vascular disorders are determined.
One of the most common forms of multiple lesions of the nervous system is acute infectious Guillain-Barré polyradiculoneuritis. The disease begins acutely with a rise in temperature and catarrhal symptoms, usually in the cold season. Patients develop rapidly increasing weakness in the legs, difficulty walking, and pain along the nerve trunks.
Characterized by symmetrical flaccid paralysis, starting from the lower extremities and covering the muscles of the trunk, upper extremities, neck, lesions of the cranial nerves, sensitivity disorders and sharp protein cell dissociation in the cerebrospinal fluid. The course of this form of the disease is benign.
Another type of polyradiculoneuritis is ascending Landry's palsy , which primarily affects the anterior roots. Characterized by an acute onset and rapid course of the disease. The disease begins with paresthesia, pain, weakness, and paralysis of the legs, which quickly, within 2-3 days, spread to the upper limbs and cranial nerves, primarily the bulbar ones. In this case, speech and swallowing are impaired, breathing and cardiac problems occur. Death is common.
Treatment consists of suppressing the autoimmune inflammatory reaction (prednisolone, or its analogues, intravenous bolus up to 1.5-2.1 g per day for the first 3 days, followed by a dose reduction and switching to tablet drugs), administration of antibiotics (benzylpenicillin up to 20 million units per day, gentamicin, rifampicin) and hexamethylenetetramine :
Reducing pain (analgin, voltaren):
Detoxification (hemodesis, glucose):
Improving neuromuscular transmission (proserin intramuscularly 1-2 ml twice a day, galantamine, ATP, B vitamins):
Immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis are also used:
If swallowing is impaired, glucose, albumin, and hydrolysine are administered intravenously; If breathing is impaired, resuscitation measures are carried out. After the acute phenomena subside, ultraviolet irradiation, UHF sessions, light massage, passive movements are carried out, biostimulants and vitamins are administered. 2-3 months after the process has subsided, hydrogen sulfide and radon baths, mud applications, and exercise therapy can be prescribed.
In the residual period, patients are prescribed sanatorium-resort treatment in Sochi-Matsesta, Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Khilovo, Yeisk.
Diphtheria polyneuritis occurs two to three weeks after diphtheria. It mainly affects the cranial nerves - the vagus, facial and abducens. The appearance of bulbar disorders is especially dangerous. After recovery, the voice may remain muffled for many years.
Treatment is carried out by urgent administration of anti-diphtheria serum (5-10 thousand units). To prevent an anaphylactic reaction, 0.5-1.0 ml of serum is first injected under the skin, and after 12-24 hours the entire dose is injected.
Allergic (anti-rabies) polyneuritis is a consequence of an allergic reaction to the vaccine. After the start of vaccinations, the patient develops dizziness, weakness, dyspepsia, and diffuse pain. Then the temperature rises; vomiting, uncontrollable, severe headache appear, flaccid paralysis of the limbs and pelvic disorders develop. Reversal of symptoms is rapid.
Diabetic polyneuropathy develops against the background of hyperglycemia . It is characterized by paresthesia, itching and pain in the legs, sensitivity disorders in the distal extremities, and extinction of the Achilles and knee reflexes. Possible damage to the oculomotor nerves and autonomic ganglia.
Treatment includes correction of hyperglycemia (diabetes, insulin), vitamins, trental, coplamine, nootropics, analgesics, biostimulants, anabolic steroids, lipostabils, thioctacid:
Alcoholic polyneuropathy develops subacutely with chronic alcohol intoxication. The disease begins with paresthesia, burning pain in the feet against the background of pronounced autonomic disorders (cyanosis, coldness, sweating) of the extremities.
In the distal sections, paresis develops, superficial and deep sensitivity is impaired (sensitive ataxia), and muscle atrophy appears. Korsakov's syndrome is very characteristic - loss of memory for recent and current events, confabulation, temporal and spatial disorganization.
Treatment consists of eliminating alcohol, prescribing large doses of B vitamins, benfogamma, mil-gamma, vasodilators (spasvin) and other drugs used for polyneuropathies.
Polyneuropathy in pregnant women is associated with impaired vitamin metabolism and liver failure. Characterized by paresis, peripheral sensitivity disorders, extinction of reflexes, disorders of autonomic innervation in the form of hyperhidrosis, coldness of the extremities. Possible Landry syndrome.
Congenital diseases
A number of diseases of the nervous system arise due to gene disorders (mutations). Another common cause is embryonic developmental disorders or injuries received during birth. The most famous pathologies:
- Epilepsy is a disease accompanied by convulsions and seizures.
- Canavan syndrome is a brain disorder that causes delays in intellectual development. Treatment is impossible.
- Tourette's syndrome is a disease in which a person begins to move involuntarily and even shout words. Usually goes away as you get older.
- Spinal muscular atrophy is a lesion of the neuronal cells of the spinal cord, which impairs the development of muscle tissue, which can be fatal.
- Huntington's chorea - tics, dementia. The pathology is genetically predetermined, but begins to manifest itself only in old age.
Treatment
Treatment of any disease of the peripheral nervous system begins with identifying and eliminating its cause, for which all sorts of methods can be used, from anti-inflammatory drug therapy to surgical intervention, which is used mainly to eliminate nerve pinching by various neoplasms or overgrown surrounding tissues. Sometimes neurosurgery is used as a treatment for a nerve that has received irreparable damage in one specific area, when the part that cannot be restored is removed and the ends of the nerve fiber are sutured together.
In addition to the basic methods, damage to the peripheral nervous system requires symptomatic therapy, primarily in the form of anesthetics, drugs that improve conductivity and stimulate nerve function, improve blood circulation, etc.
Treatment with folk remedies is most often used for neuralgia, as the least harmful to the body, but very effective method. For neuritis, traditional medicine serves as auxiliary or restorative therapy, since it is not advisable to let the tissue destruction that has begun take its course.
Physiotherapy in the form of massage, reflexology and physical exercise also allows you to get rid of pathology in many cases, since with its help you can get rid of pinching, swelling or improve blood circulation, which will have a positive effect both in the case of dyscirculatory disorders and during inflammation.
For severe neuralgia or neuritis, the doctor sometimes prescribes a course of other physiotherapeutic methods in the form of hardware treatment.
Diseases of the peripheral nervous system
The entire nervous system is divided into central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (all other nervous tissue). There are a number of diseases that affect only the peripheral system. These include:
- Neuritis – destruction of nerves (in whole or in part).
- Polyneuritis is damage to many nerves simultaneously with loss of muscle sensitivity and tone.
- Neuralgia is an inflammatory process in the nervous tissue that leads to the destruction of neuron cells.
- Radiculitis is an inflammatory process in the roots of the spinal cord, accompanied by sharp, shooting pains.
Attention! The described diseases often develop as a consequence of other pathologies. For example, they may appear as a result of diabetes mellitus, spinal pathologies, alcoholism or drug addiction.
Operational disruptions
Diseases of the peripheral nervous system cause loss or disruption of certain of its functions: sensitivity, motor activity, functioning of any organs or reflexes.
Impaired sensitivity in pathologies does not always look like its complete or partial loss; sometimes, on the contrary, there is an increase in irritation, and as a result - sensitivity, but much more often there is its distortion in the form of goosebumps, strange sensations, severe pain symptoms, etc. In case of problems with the vestibular nerve or the nerve into which it flows, the person suffers from nausea, dizziness, and lack of coordination.
Since the human PNS consists of many branching nerves, similar to the branches of a tree, individual parts of which are responsible for only one function, the size of the disorders directly depends on which nerve in seniority is affected. So, if the small one, which is responsible for, say, bending the big toe, is damaged, then only this function will be lost, and if the sciatic or femoral one, where all the nerves responsible for the leg flow, is damaged, then if it is damaged, you can lose the functionality of the entire limb, including including even such small organs as the sweat glands on it.
How are pathologies of the nervous system treated?
As in all other cases, treatment should begin as early as possible. The first step is to contact a neurologist and undergo diagnostics. Standard examination methods:
- general tests;
- MRI;
- CT.
Treatment is usually complex, using different means:
- medicines;
- procedures (physiotherapy);
- physiotherapy;
- surgical intervention.
