What Is A Neurological Disease: Its Symptoms And The Most Common Ones

Neurological diseases affect the nervous system, which can cause problems with mobility, speech, and thinking, among others.

A neurological disease is a pathology that affects the nervous system and causes damage to the brain, spinal cord, and/or muscles of the body, which can cause a disability or impediment to performing a specific activity. Among the most common are epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and strokes, among others.

The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, and is responsible for controlling our ability to move, breathe, see, think, and more. It is divided into the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord; and the peripheral nervous system, made up of nerves and ganglia that extend throughout the body.

According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the primary function of the nervous system is to control and regulate the functioning of the body’s organs.

The brain is made up of many networks of communicating neurons and glial cells. These networks allow different parts of the brain to “talk” to each other and work together to control bodily functions, emotions, thinking, behavior, and other activities.

Neurological diseases therefore alter these functions and affect our movement and thinking. These pathologies can affect people at any age, although they are more common in the elderly.

Symptoms of neurological diseases

Symptoms of neurological diseases can affect part or all of the nervous system, so the signs that something is wrong in this area can be very varied. The MSD Manual details that headaches, back pain, and muscle pain are among the most common types.

Muscles, skin sensations, special senses (sight, hearing, smell, and taste), and other senses depend on nerves to function normally. Therefore, neurological symptoms may include weakness or loss of muscle coordination, changes in skin sensation, and disturbances in vision, taste, smell, and hearing.

What is a neurological disease? — Headaches, muscle pain, and problems with the five senses are symptoms of a neurological disease. (Photo by Prensa Libre: Usman Yousaf on Unsplash).

Neurological disorders can disrupt sleep, making a person anxious or agitated at bedtime and therefore tired and sleepy during the day.

Most common neurological diseases

Because the nervous system encompasses several functions, there are many neurological disorders. The most common are dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease, among others.

Mayo Clinic specialists list the most common neurological diseases:

Alzheimer’s disease

It is characterized by the fact that the brain shrinks and, in the long term, brain neurons die. This causes dementia, a gradual deterioration in memory, thinking, behavior, and social skills. Early symptoms include forgetting recent events or conversations.

Epilepsy

It is considered a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures over some time. This occurs when changes occur in the brain tissue that make the brain overly excitable or irritable and send abnormal signals. MedlinePlus explains that a seizure that occurs only once is not epilepsy.

Parkinson’s disease

It affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. The first symptom is a slight tremor in one hand and as the disease progresses it may cause stiffness or decreased movement.

Multiple sclerosis

This disease focuses on the brain and spinal cord. The immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.

Symptoms will vary depending on the person, the location, and the severity of the damage to the nerve fiber in the central nervous system. As the disease progresses, the patient may have trouble walking.