Currently, assessment for Alzheimer’s disease includes using brain scans and cognitive function tests. While these help give a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, there may be doubts that it is another type of dementia. A blood test...
Premature births occur in one out of every eight pregnancies in the United States each year. According to the March of Dimes, premature babies are at increased risk of developing health problems such as cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, and...
Pediatric neuropsychology is the medical discipline that examines how children's mental abilities and brain functions affect their behavior and learning. According to the American Psychological Association, or APA, a number of factors are assessed...
A brain injury can occur in only a fraction of time, but its results may be devastating and permanent. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, over 1.7 million people experience a traumatic brain injury in the United States each...
Caffeine is referred to as a stimulant of the central nervous system, but according to Lifehacker.com, it is more accurate to say caffeine acts to prevent inhibition of the brain's inherent stimulants, the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate....
In the early 20th century, confusion in older people was viewed as a normal symptom of old age. However, as the population grew to live longer and advanced technologies enabled scientists to study and compare changes in the brains of healthy...
Physical therapy can benefit people who have an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM. This fast-growing cancer can occur in both adults and children. GBM occurs more frequently in adult men than women, but it...
A brain tumor can occur at any age. It may be cancerous or noncancerous, which is called a benign tumor. Both kinds of tumors can be life-threatening. Treatment may involve surgery, drugs or radiation. A physician may opt to monitor a slow-growing...
A stroke occurs when a blood clot or burst blood vessel interrupts blood flow to the brain. Because symptoms of stroke come on suddenly, a patient who is unfamiliar with the signs of stroke may postpone treatment if the symptoms are not severe....
Robotic treadmill training is an effective way to treat patients that have suffered from traumatic spinal cord or brain injuries, stroke, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis. Studies indicate this type of training increases activity in parts of...
A broken blood vessel in the brain is known as a hemorrhagic stroke. Arterial bleeds generally have worse outcomes than vascular bleeds, but either form can be life-threatening. With prompt treatment, it is possible to survive a hemorrhagic...
Diffuse axonal injury (DAI), is a common and important feature of traumatic brain injury, also known as TBI. Axons are the parts of nerve cells that send a signal from a nerve body to an adjacent nerve or nerves. In the case of severe head trauma,...
Alzheimer's disease can be devastating for the individuals who have it as well as for their families and friends. A diagnosis of Alzheimer's may involve looking at brain scans, assessing behavior, giving psychiatric tests and performing blood...
A bleeding stroke, is uncontrolled bleeding from a burst blood vessel within or around the brain, according to the Stanford School of Medicine. A bleeding stroke is also called a hemorrhagic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage or intracerebral...
One way to classify brain tumors is to assess their location in proximity to the tentorium cerebelli, a thick membrane separating the back of the brain from the cerebellum. Supratentorial tumors are found above the tentorium cerebelli, and most...
The brain requires a variety of nutrients to perform optimally. The functioning of the older brain can decline as a result of the normal aging process. Such declined function can involve the loss of memory, as is the case with dementia. However,...
A pituitary tumor is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland, which is the part of the brain that controls the body's balance of hormones, says Medline Plus, a part of the National Institutes of Health. Most pituitary tumors are noncancerous and...
Doctors prescribe steroids, a broad class of drugs, to treat many medical conditions. Men take testosterone to enhance strength and promote recovery. Women use estrogen to overcome symptoms of menopause. Children, however, should avoid such...
Knee injuries can happen suddenly or gradually. The knee itself is one of the largest and most resilient joints in the body, but its physical position in the middle of the leg makes it vulnerable to getting hit, twisted and pulled. If you enjoy...
About one-third of all people have consumed an energy drink, according to a 2011 survey in "Addictive Behaviors." Their potent effects on the brain provide one reason for the popularity of these beverages. Such effects usually result from a high...
Brain fitness means your ability or lack of ability to maintain or improve memory, attention and information processing, as well as overall thinking or cognitive abilities. Several ways to measure brain fitness exist, depending on the goal. Goals...
Bipolar disorder causes intense mood swings that cause the person to move from deep depression into mania. Bipolar disorder causes both structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. Neuro-imaging tools such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging...
When the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, even momentarily, the result is called a stroke. The University of Maryland Medical Center explains that this can occur when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or bursts open. This is a...
One of your brain's many jobs is to assess and transmit information about your body, your surroundings and your body within your surroundings. Understanding where you are relative to the environment is part of proprioception; this information is...
The violence in boxing has led many people to question whether the sport is safe enough for people to participate in it. People have died as a result of head trauma from boxing, and some have questioned whether long-term brain damage happens as a...
The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 22,020 people will be diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in 2010. Cancerous brain tumors can impede normal brain functions and are life-threatening. Cancerous brain...
Injury to the frontal lobe of the brain can cause temporary or permanent changes in the way a person thinks and functions as well as personality changes. Because it sits at the front of the brain, the frontal lobe is especially vulnerable to...
While it's often considered a part of the game of hockey, a body check or hit to the head is enough to cause a serious head injury. Despite the potential danger, it's easy to dismiss symptoms and return to play when you don't see visible signs of...
Each tissue in the body receives a supply of oxygen-rich blood from the arteries, which is then carried back into the lungs by veins for future oxygenation. Beginning in utero, tissues throughout the body carry out angiogenesis -- the growth of...
