Greenspan Good Health

The “nervous system” refers to the human (or any animal’s) system of organs in which neurons are transmitted between different parts of the body. The human nervous system is divided into two major parts. The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and retina, while the peripheral nervous system (PNS) includes sensory neurons, ganglia (neural clusters), and connecting nerves that run between the elements of the PNS and between the PNS and CNS. Scientists have also named a subsection of the PNS, called the enteric nervous system (ENS), which controls the gastrointestinal system and can work independently from the rest of the systems.Nervous system disease is also divided into two categories, based on the region. Central nervous system disease affects the CNS, and peripheral neuropathy affects the PNS.Central Nervous System DiseaseThese diseases often affect either the brain (in which case the disease is known as encephalopathy) or the spinal cord (in which case it is called myelopathy). A number of central nervous system diseases are listed below.

• Alzheimer’s: The cause of this disease is unknown, but its tragic effects (deterioration of cognitive activity in people over 65) are not.
• Arachnoid Cysts: Cerebrospinal fluid covered by arachnoidal cellsthey may affect the brain and spinal cord and can cause headaches, ataxia, seizures, and more.
• Encephalitis: Brain inflammation caused by a foreign substance or virus. Symptoms include pain in the head and neck, nausea and drowsiness, and fever.
• Huntington’s: An inherited neurological disorder that causes progressive degeneration in the brain’s frontal lobe, resulting in loss of motor control.
• Locked-in syndrome: A lesion on the brain stem causes this disease, in which the patient is paralyzed within their own bodyawake, but unable to move or communicate.
• Meningitis: Inflammation of the brain’s and spinal cord’s meninges, which can cause nausea and vomiting, fever, and neck pains.
• Multiple sclerosis: This disease affects the myelin sheath of neurons. Its most common symptoms are muscle weakness and problems with the senses.
• Parkinson’s: A disease that affects motor skills and speech.
• Tourette’s: An inherited disorder characterized by physical and verbal tics.
• Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP): An incomplete paralysis of the legs, caused by the same virus that causes leukemia.

Peripheral NeuropathyPeripheral neuropathy is further divided into categories based on the type or number of affected nerve cells, or the manner in which they’re affected.

• Autonomic neuropathy: This variety affects the non-voluntary, non-sensory nervous system, including the bladder muscles, cardiovascular system, digestive tract, and genital organs. Bladder problems, abnormal vomiting and nausea, and heart rate disturbances are all symptoms.
• Mononeuropathy: This type of disease affects only a single nerve (thus the name, from mono, “one”). This is usually caused by physical compression, such as in carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Mononeuritis multiplex: MM is affects multiple nerve trunks, either at the same time or in order. You can detect this disease through persistent pain, generally worse at night, in the lower back, hip, and leg areas. Diabetes mellitus is one medical condition associated with this disease.
• Neuritis: A general term for an inflamed nerve, or for the overall inflammation of the PNS. This can be caused by infection, chemical or physical injury, or other issues such as vitamin B12 deficiency or alcoholism.
• Polyneuropathy: Affects many nerve cells (from poly, “many”). Sufferers often experience symptoms at the same time in multiple parts of the body, from loss of motor control to strange sensations to dizziness and erectile dysfunction.

If you experience any of the above symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. It could be a matter of life and death.