Chronic neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by the progressive loss of nerve cells in the brain. This results in a gradual decrease in brain function over a period of time...
A stroke is a focal neurologic deficit due to a vascular lesion that lasts for more than 24 hours. About 80% are due to infarction secondary to thrombosis or embolism, and 20% are due to intracerebral hemorrhage...
Epilepsy refers to a group of conditions in which paroxysms of abnormal electrical activity of cerebral neurones results in seizures. Seizure disorders can be divided into two main groups...
Sensory neurologic deficits include: Hyperesthesias (increased pain, touch, or vibration); Hypalgesia (decreased sensitivity to painful stimuli); Paresthesia (abnormal sensation of the skin like tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness); Anesthesia (complete loss of pain, temperature, touch, and vibration sense). Sensory and Motor Neurologic Deficits can result from disease occurring anywhere along the pathway from the skin or muscle to the brain and back.
True vertigo is the false perception (illusion) of movement, usually rotational, of a patient of his or her surroundings. This is often accompanied by vomiting, sweating, and pallor...
Headache is one of the most common presenting symptoms. There are often few clinical signs, and the history is the main diagnostic tool. Many different pathologic processes can result in headache or facial pain.
In specific forms of epilepsy, initially a single drug is tried to achieve control of seizures, valproate usually being the drug of first choice in generalized seizures, and carbamazepine being preferred for partial (focal), especially partial complex, seizures.
Parkinson’s disease (shaking palsy) and its syndromal forms are caused by a degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons. Pharmacotherapeutic measures are aimed at restoring dopaminergic function or suppressing cholinergic hyperactivity.
The Approach (Questions): Is the dizziness true vertigo? If so, is it central or peripheral vertigo? Is the vertigo intermittent - likely benign? Constant vertigo is either acute peripheral vestibulopathy (APV) or a posterior circulation/cerebellar CVA
Emergency department evaluation relies on excluding life-threatening causes of Headache (killers), specifically SAH and meningitis. Then consider other serious causes of headache that can debilitate the patient (the maimers). When these have been excluded, we can then diagnose primary headache syndromes.