A caffeine infusion may sound like an office joke, but for some people it is prescribed as a treatment for headache. When you have a spinal headache, a type that occurs if you are leaking spinal fluid, oral forms of caffeine can help improve pain...
According to the site Spinalheadache.org, spinal headaches occur when the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal nerves leaks out, causing the pressure within the skull to decrease. Spinal headaches are characterized by an extreme...
Meningitis refers to inflammation of the meninges, or the layers protecting the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by medication or infection from bacteria, viruses or fungi. Meningitis becomes life threatening when inflammation damages the...
Ependymomas are brain tumors that come from ependymal cells in your child's central nervous system. They are classified into four different types, based on the tissue's appearance. Brain tumors are a mass of abnormal cells in the brain. This can...
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, and it is caused by either a virus or bacteria. Viral meningitis is more common than bacterial meningitis and the symptoms, while similar, are generally not as...
Thirty-six million people are living with HIV infection worldwide, according to AIDS.org. As of December 2000, 774,467 cases of AIDS have been reported in the United States and 58 percent of these people have died of AIDS-related illnesses or...
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans by deer ticks. Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease that may affect multiple body systems. Antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease and resolve...
A dark spot can appear on an X-ray or scan for any number of reasons. Brain lesions usually are discovered accidentally when you're being diagnosed for an unrelated symptom, according to MayoClinic.com. Dark spots that indicate brain lesions...
Hearing of a case of meningitis can evoke fear, especially when a daycare, school or college is involved. Meningitis symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting. and often appear suddenly. Individually, these...
Bacterial meningitis is caused by one of three types of bacteria: Neisseria meningitis, Haemophilus influenzae or Streptococcus pneumoniae. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that while Haemophilus influenzae used to cause the...
An aspirin a day is good for your heart if you are an adult. When given to children, however, aspirin can be dangerous, even deadly. This standard pain reliever found in most homes is associated with Reye's syndrome (RS). The uncommon but grave...
The central nervous system (CNS) includes the brain and accompanying spinal cord. Because the CNS contains fragile and sensitive organs, it is protected by a physiological blood-brain barrier. In addition, the brain and spinal cord are contained...
Brain tumors are abnormal tissue growths that are either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Most benign tumors are limited to a specific location in the brain, but malignant tumors often spread to surrounding brain tissue. There...
Folate is an essential vitamin. It was originally isolated from spinach, and was named based on plant "foliage" being the primary natural source of the vitamin. Folate is now available in a variety of different forms, including a synthetic folic...
Spinal meningitis is an infection of the fluid that surrounds the spine and brain. Meningitis is caused either by bacteria or a virus. Meningitis can be a life threatening condition, so early diagnosis and treatment is a must. Some types of...
Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion and weariness that does not go away with rest. Fatigue is not drowsiness that responds to a good night's sleep. Nausea is the feeling of sickness or discomfort in the stomach that produces the urge to vomit. Many...
Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease affecting the motor neurons, or nerve cells responsible for movement. This progressive, degenerative disease causes muscle weakness, paralysis and death. The...
Nerve damage in the legs can cause a number of motor and sensory issues, or difficulties with movement and the way your skin feels stimuli. However, some types of nerve damage may also cause abnormal amounts of protein to appear in your spinal...
The Mayo Clinic defines amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as a serious neurological disease that causes muscle limitation, disability and eventually death. ALS also is known as Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the baseball player who passed...
Meningitis describes inflammation of the meninges, which is a layer of tissue that lines the brain and the spinal cord. Meningitis can be life-threatening or fairly mild, depending on its cause. The swelling around the brain that this condition...
Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes surrounding your brain and spinal cord. Most cases of viral meningitis usually get better without treatment. However, bacterial meningitis is life-threatening medical emergency, which may cause brain...
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and incurable form of dementia that is ultimately fatal. Alzheimer's disease typically affects the elderly although some forms of the disease can affect people under the age of 65 (typically termed early onset...
To protect the brain from trauma, Mother Nature has surrounded it with fluid. The meninges are the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. These membranes produce fluid. The fluid serves to carry nutrients to the brain as well as offering...
Doctors prescribe steroids to alleviate the symptoms of a myriad of health problems. Steroids are used for everything from seasonal allergies and mild to severe bacterial infections, to adrenal insufficiency. They ease disorders the immune system...
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...
According to "Sheehy's Emergency Nursing Principles and Practice," meningitis is the inflammation of the meningeal layers, which is the protective covering that surrounds the brain and spinal cord; it is a neurological emergency and an infectious...
If bacteria can successfully invade the body and get into the bloodstream then penetrate what is called the blood-brain barrier to go from the bloodstream to the brain, they can survive in the cerebrospinal fluid and cause meningitis. A physician...
Red bumps can be frustrating, especially if yours are accompanied by pain or itching. Most bumps are easy for your physician to diagnose and treat, so making an appointment with your doctor will speed up the healing process. Potential causes for...
Meningitis inflames the membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. It starts in a variety of ways. Various forms of meningitis come from bacteria or a virus that invaded the area, from exposure to chemicals, a fungus or even parasites....
