Brain diseases have many different forms. Infection, trauma, stroke, seizures and tumors are some major categories of brain disease. Here's an overview of various brain diseases.
Brain disease: Infection / Inflammation.
Brain disease in the category of infection / inflammation, among others:
- Meningitis: An inflammation of the membranes around the brain or spinal cord, usually due to infection. Neck pain, headaches and confusion are symptoms commonly.
- Encephalitis: An inflammation of the brain tissue, usually due to infection. Meningitis and encephalitis often occur simultaneously, which is called meningoencephalitis
- Brain abscess / abscess of the brain: An infection in the brain, usually caused by bacteria. Antibiotics and surgical drainage (a pipe used to remove pus, blood or other fluids from the wound) in the area is often required.
Brain disease: Seizures.
Included in this category of diseases of the brain are epileptic seizures. Head injury and stroke can cause epilepsy, but usually no cause is identified.
Brain disease: Trauma
Trauma included in these conditions:
- Concussion: A brain injury that causes temporary disturbance in brain function, unconsciousness and sometimes experienced dizziness. Traumatic head injury caused a concussion.
- Traumatic head injury: permanent brain damage due to traumatic head injury. Real mental disorders or personality changes are more subtle and mood changes can occur.
- Intracerebral hemorrhage: Any bleeding in the brain, which can occur after a traumatic injury or because of high blood pressure.
Brain disease: Tumor, mass and increased pressure
Categories of this brain disease, among others:
- Brain tumors: Any abnormal tissue that grows in the brain. What is malignant (cancerous) or benign, brain tumors usually cause problems due to the pressure that they give to normal brain.
- Glioblastoma multiform: an aggressive brain cancer and malignant. Glioblastomas brain develops very rapidly and is usually difficult to cure.
- Hydrocephalus: A number of abnormal increases of cerebrospinal fluid (brain) inside the skull. Usually this is because the fluid does not circulate properly.
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus: A form of hydrocephalus that often cause problems with walking, along with dementia and inability to hold urine. Pressures in the brain remained normal, although the fluid increases.
- Pseudo tumor cerebra: Increased pressure within the skull for no apparent reason. Changes in vision, headaches, dizziness and fatigue are symptoms generally.
Diseases of the brain: Conditions vascular (blood vessel)
Brain diseases associated with vascular conditions include:
- Stroke: Blood flow and oxygen is suddenly interrupted to the area of brain tissue, which then die. Parts of the body controlled by the damaged brain areas (such as arm or leg) can no longer function properly.
- Ischemic stroke: blood a group suddenly forming in arteries, inhibiting blood flow and cause a stroke.
- Hemorrhagic stroke: Bleeding in the brain that create congestion and pressure on brain tissue, damaging healthy blood flow and cause a stroke.
- Cerebrovascular accident (CVA): Name of stroke
- Transient ischemic attack (TIA): A temporary interruption in blood flow and oxygen to the brain. The symptoms are similar to stroke, but can recover fully without damaging brain tissue.
- Brain aneurysm (swelling of the brain blood vessels): An artery in the brain develops a weak area that swells like a balloon. Rupture of swollen blood vessels that lead to stroke, because of bleeding.
- Subdural hematoma: Bleeding on the brain surface. A subdural hematoma can put pressure on the brain, causing neurological problems.
- Epidural hematoma: Bleeding between the skull and the hard layer (durra) in the brain. Bleeding is usually derived from an artery, usually shortly after brain injury. Mild early symptoms can increase rapidly become unconscious and death, if not treated. This is also referred to as extramural hematoma.
- Intracerebral hemorrhage: Any bleeding in the brain.
- Cerebral edema: Swelling in the brain tissue that can occur due to different causes, such as the response to injury or electrolyte imbalance.
Brain disease: autoimmune conditions.
Brain diseases associated with autoimmune conditions, among others:
- Vacuities: Inflammation of the brain blood vessels. May cause dizziness, seizures, headaches and fainting
- Multiple sclerosis (MS): the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the body's own nerves. Muscle cramps, fatigue and weakness are symptoms. MS can occur in periodic attacks or growing.
Brain disease: neurodegenerative conditions.
Diseases of the brain associated with neurodegenerative conditions, among others:
- Parkinson's Disease: Nerve-nerve in the central area of the brain is slowly deteriorating, causing problems with movement and coordination. Shaking hands is a common early sign.
- Huntington's disease: Disorders that affect the brain derived nerve. Dementia and difficulty controlling movements (chorea) are the symptoms.
- Pick disease (front temporal dementia): For years, large areas of the nerves in the front and side of brain damage, caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins. Personality changes, inappropriate behavior, and memory loss and intellectual ability are the symptoms. Pick disease is flourishing.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): ALS also called Lou Gehrig's disease. In ALS, the nerves that control muscle function slowly destroyed. ALS continues to develop into paralysis and inability to breathe without the aid of a machine. Cognitive function is generally not affected.
- Dementia: A decline in cognitive function, because of death or damage to nerve cells in the brain. The conditions in which the nerves in the brain deteriorate, also abuse alcohol and stroke, can cause dementia.
- Alzheimer's Disease: For reasons that are unclear, the nerves in certain brain areas decline, causing the loss of the development of memory and mental function. Accumulation of abnormal tissues in the brain areas - often called tangles and plaques - believed to contribute to this disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia.