Unfortunately, there are no specific medical tests that can positively detect Tourette's syndrome. Doctors usually make a Tourette's diagnosis based on observed behaviors and medical history. Children with Tourette's syndrome have tics as the...
A number of tests can be performed when it is suspected that a person has Alzheimer's disease. A correct diagnosis can help guide therapy according to a person's needs. A full diagnosis usually starts with the patient's primary physician and is...
Herpes, according to a 2009 article in the journal "Antiviral Therapy," is a family of viruses that includes herpes simplex-1, herpes simplex-2, varicella zoster (shingles), herpes B, Epstein-Barr and other viruses. The viruses share several...
Imagine being so tired, sad and full of despair that you are unable to lift yourself up out of bed. This describes the feelings of an individual with depression. Depressed individuals complain of irritability, sleep problems, poor appetite, mood...
Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects the brain’s ability to control the movement of muscles, which is called motor skills. There are a number of neurological disorders that can affect the development of the brain’s cerebral...
Anxiety disorders are relatively common mental health conditions, affecting around 40 million American adults every year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. While anxiety disorders are generally treated with a combination of...
Heroin withdrawal is a long, and often painful, process. Many health care providers are now offering complementary and alternative treatments to help with managing withdrawal symptoms, including Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese herbs for...
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by significant brain structure and function abnormalities. Due to the significant advances in neuro-imaging methods during the last decade, much more is...
Rebecca Atkinson published an essay on July 17, 2007, in the Guardian newspaper about her gradual loss of sight from a condition called Leber's congenital amaurosis. Atkinson states, "Suddenly you can smell the world and sense when someone is...
Tourette's syndrome is a condition that causes involuntary behavior movements or vocal expressions known as tics. It is related to an imbalance of the brain chemicals called serotonin and dopamine. Certain drugs may interact with these brain...
Currently, 77 billion "baby boomers" are making their way towards retirement. Maintaining a sense of independence, a healthy financial future and a continued sense of the quality of their life will be defined in part by the maintenance of their...
A stroke is a potentially life-threatening neurological incident that involves disruption of the blood supply to a part of the brain. Affecting people of all ages, strokes can potentially lead to long-term brain damage and disability. While few...
Millions of people in the United States smoke cigarettes and millions more drink coffee habitually. Of these individuals many are addicted to both caffeine and nicotine, and do not go through a day without caffeine and nicotine. In part, the...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates tobacco kills about 440,000 Americans annually and that almost 1 in 5 deaths can be linked to smoking. Smoking causes numerous diseases and hurts all of the body's organs. Nicotine is one of the main...
Autism is a neurobiological disorder characterized by impairments in reciprocal social skills, as well as verbal and nonverbal language. Odd, repetitive behavior is also one of the defining symptoms of this disorder, says the Diagnostic and...
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 22,020 people will be diagnosed with brain cancer in 2010 and that 13,140 of them will die. Brain cancer can be divided into four stages. Stage I is the beginning of the brain cancer, and...
Almost all people experience dreaming, and many reference dreams in conversation, literature and artistic expression. An emerging field is the biology and psychology of dreaming. Recent discoveries have provided insight into the anatomical...
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects 1 percent of the world's population, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A patient with schizophrenia cannot tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, and has issues...
Rapid hormonal and physical changes during pregnancy are often accompanied by a variety of maladies. While symptoms usually clear at the conclusion of the pregnancy, they can make for a miserable nine months. Pregnant woman are limited in the...
Schizophrenia affects approximately 1 percent of the population older than the age of 18, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. This disorder impacts a person's ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy due to...
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 3 to 5 percent of children in the United States. Of these children, 50 percent will continue having symptoms of the condition even as adults. ADHD...
A diagnosis of epilepsy involves a combination of observation and diagnostic tests. The doctor will listen to a description of the seizures a person has, and perhaps monitor the patient using video for a few hours or days to try and observe a...
Although a full evaluation of a person with suspected Alzheimer's disease includes blood tests and neuroimaging, and is normally carried out by a specialist, there are a number of simple, quick tests that can be carried out in the primary...
Is America's obsession with appearance and thinness driving woman and teens to literally starve themselves to death? Hollywood, the fashion industry and glossy women's magazines often promote an unattainable ideal of thinness and beauty. As...
The brain stem, the bottommost section of the brain, connects the rest of the brain with the spinal cord. This means that all nerve transmissions must travel through the brain stem. The brain stem consists of specialized areas known as the...
There are a number of test procedures carried out to diagnose a person with Alzheimer's disease, including clinical and cognitive evaluations, blood tests and brain imaging. While some are done to aid the initial suspicion of Alzheimer's disease,...
Cerebral palsy, or CP, is a group of chronic movement or posture disorders. This condition is not caused by problems with the muscle, but with the brain's ability to control the body. According to United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational...
Infants who have been exposed to smoked cocaine, or crack, during pregnancy typically show a wide spectrum of symptoms after birth, although it is not uncommon for some infants to be asymptomatic, says the National Institute on Drug Abuse. At...
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) causes symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness that are so severe that they interfere with the activities of daily living. According to the Centers for Disease Control and...
