biology

Nervous system disease

Nervous system disease is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nervous system disease rather than just read about it. In short: Nervous system diseases, also known as nervous system or neurological disorders, refers to a small class of medical conditions affecting the nervous system. This category encompasses over 600 different conditions, including genetic disorders, infections, cancer, seizure disorders (such as epilepsy), conditions with a cardiovascular origin (such as stroke), congenital and developmental disorders (such as spina bifida…

Key takeaways

Nervous system disease belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nervous system disease to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nervous system disease from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nervous system diseases, also known as nervous system or neurological disorders, refers to a small class of medical conditions affecting the nervous system. This category encompasses over 600 different conditions, including genetic disorders, infections, cancer, seizure disorders (such as epilepsy), conditions with a cardiovascular origin (such as stroke), congenital and developmental disorders (such as spina bifida), and degenerative disorders (such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).

Signs and symptoms Signs and symptoms can vary depending on the condition. Given the significance of the nervous system in human physiology, symptoms can involve other organ systems and result in motor dysfunction, sensory impairment, and pain, among other things.

Causes

Genetic Some nervous system diseases are due to genetic mutations. For example, Huntington's disease is an inherited disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Huntington's disease results from a mutation in either copy of the HTT gene, which results in an abnormally folded protein. The accumulation of mutated proteins results in brain damage of the basal ganglia.

Congenital/developmental defect Developing babies can have birth defects that affect the formation of the nervous system. For example, Anencephaly (or spina bifida) causes abnormalities in the nervous system due to neural tube defects.

Cancer

Specialized cells in the central nervous system, such as glial cells, may proliferate abnormally and form gliomas. Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of glioma.

Infection Pathogens like fungi, bacteria, and viruses can affect the nervous system. For example, meningitis is a common infection of the central nervous system, where bacterial or viral infections cause an inflammation of the meninges.

Seizure disorder It is suspected that seizures occur because of synchronized brain activity. Epilepsy, for example, is characterized by an abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which causes repeated seizures.

Vascular The brain is rich in blood vessels because it requires a lot of nutrients and oxygen. A stroke may result from a blood clot or hemorrhage.

Degenerative

A neurodegenerative disease is a disease that causes damage to neurons. Examples of neurodegenerative disease include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. For example, multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory neurodegenerative disease where the body initiate an inflammatory reaction in the central nervous system, and causes damage to neurons. Neurodegeneration is different in each disease; for example, MS is a result of a degenerative process called demyelination. On the other hand, Parkinson's disease results from damage of neurons in the Substantia Nigra, which is important to initiate motor behavior.

Anatomy

Central nervous system (CNS) According to Tim Newman, the central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord, it collects information from the entire body and it also controls functions throughout the entire body.

Brain

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It is split up into two hemispheres, each split into four lobes: frontal, parietal, the temporal, and occipital. The brain has over 100 billion neurons and it consumes up to 20% of the energy used by the body.

Spinal cord The spinal cord runs through most of the back. The spinal cord contains a total of 31 spinal nerves in between each vertebra. The nerves connect to the peripheral nervous system.

Peripheral nervous system The peripheral nervous system connects to the muscles and glands and sends information to the central nervous system.

Diagnosis There are a number of different tests that can be used to diagnose neurological disorders.

Lumbar puncture A lumbar puncture (LP), also known as a spinal tap, is a procedure where a hollow needle is inserted into the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord, allowing for the collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for collection and subsequent analysis. Red and white blood cell counts, protein and glucose levels, and the presence of abnormal cells or pathogens such as bacteria and viruses can all be screened for. The opacity and color of the fluid can also yield useful information that can assist in a diagnosis.

Treatments The treatments for nervous system disorders varies depending on the condition, and can include interventions such as medication, surgery, and therapy.

See also Central nervous system disease Peripheral neuropathy

References

"Nervous System Side Effects". Cancer.Net. 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2019-04-05.

External links

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nervous system disease

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nervous system disease claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nervous system disease before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nervous system disease ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nervous system disease

In research: Nervous system disease appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nervous system disease in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nervous system disease is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Neurology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nervous system disease outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nervous system disease in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nervous system disease means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nervous system disease out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nervous system disease in simple terms?

Why does Nervous system disease matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nervous system disease?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nervous system disease.