NERVOUS

SYSTEM
HUMAN BRAIN
DISEASES/DISORDERS
Alzheimer's
disease
• Alzheimer's disease attacks brain cells and neurotransmitters (chemicals that
carry messages between brain cells), affecting the way your brain functions, your
memory and the way you behave. It is also the most common form of dementia.

• Dementia is a collection of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the

brain. It affects thinking, behaviour, and your ability to do normal tasks. About 7 in
10 people with dementia have Alzheimer’s disease.
Bell’s palsy
• Bell’s palsy is a weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles that usually affects just one side of the face.

• It is thought to be mainly caused by an infection with a virus.

• The infection inflames or puts pressure on the nerve that controls your facial muscles. It can be mild, or
it can be severe.

• Most people recover without treatment in 3 to 9 months.

Cerebral palsy
• Cerebral palsy is a condition in
which the ability to control muscles is
reduced due to nervous system
damage before, during or after birth.
This nervous system damage affects
body movement and posture. It often
shows up as either floppy or stiff
muscles, or involuntary muscle
movements.
• Cerebral palsy can affect movement,
coordination, muscle tone and
posture. It can also be associated with
impaired vision, hearing, speech,
eating and learning.
• Children with cerebral palsy tend to
miss developmental milestones such as
crawling, walking and talking. Usually, a
confirmed diagnosis of cerebral palsy is
made by the time a child is 2.
Epilepsy
• Epilepsy is a common, long-term
brain condition where a person has
repeated seizures, and is thought to
affect about 3% of Australians.
• Having just one seizure is not
considered to be epilepsy - about half
the people who have one seizure
never have another seizure.
• Epilepsy is not one single condition;
rather it is a range of different
conditions that can cause seizures.
• If you witness a seizure, you can go
to Epilepsy Australia's seizure first aid
resources. Seizures usually last 1 to 3
minutes. If someone has a seizure that
lasts for more than 5 minutes, call an
ambulance by ringing triple zero (000).
Motor neuron
disease (MND)
• Motor neurone disease (MND) is a
condition which affects the nerve cells
(neurons), causing weakness in the muscles
that gets worse and eventually leads to
paralysis. It is also known as Lou Gehrig's
disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or
ALS.

• What causes MND?

• The cause is not known, although
around 1 in 10 cases are ‘familial’ (meaning
the condition is inherited).

• You can’t catch it from somebody.

Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease
that affects the central nervous system. It
affects more than 25,000 people in Australia
and is 3 times more common in women than in
men.
• MS means there is damage to the protective
sheath (known as myelin) that surrounds the
nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. This
damage causes scars, or lesions, in your
nervous system, meaning that your nerves can’t
send signals round your body properly.
• A person's risk of developing MS is increased
if they have a close relative with the condition.
• The cause of MS is not known, but theories
include that it is an autoimmune disease; that it
is caused by genetic or environmental factors (it
is more common the further away from the
equator you live); and that it is caused by a
virus.
• There is currently no known cure for MS
although there are treatment options. MS
affects different people in different ways, and
treatment often involves managing symptoms.
Neurofibromatosis
• Neurofibromatosis is a relatively common genetic condition. The signs and symptoms
differ from person to person, depending on what type they have. Neurofibromatosis is not
yet curable, but it is a manageable and many people with the condition lead normal lives.
• What is neurofibromatosis?
• Neurofibromatosis is characterised by the growth of neurofibromas. These are a type of
tumour that is usually benign, or non-cancerous, although occasionally they can be
cancerous. These neurofibromas can form wherever there are nerve cells in the body.
• Half of all people affected by neurofibromatosis have inherited it from a parent who has
the condition, while others will be the first person in their family to have it.
Parkinson's disease
• Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the nervous system. It results from damage to the nerve cells in
a region of the brain that produces dopamine, a chemical that is vital for the smooth control of muscles
and movement.
• Parkinson’s disease mainly affects people aged over 65, but it can come on earlier.
• Doctors don't yet know the cause of the disorder, and it’s thought to be inherited in only a small
proportion of cases. Exposure to certain toxins in the environment is also thought to play a small role.
Sciatica
• Sciatica is a condition that can lead to pain in the back and legs.
• It occurs when pain travels along the path of the sciatic nerve. This nerve
starts in your lower spine, and travels through your hip and buttock and down
the back of your leg to your foot.
• There are a range of different causes of sciatica. In most cases, the
condition gets better over time, either on its own or with treatment.
Shingles
• Shingles is a painful rash that can
cause nerve pain. It is caused by the
varicella-zoster virus, which is the
same virus that causes chickenpox. You
can only get shingles if you have had
chickenpox in the past.
• The shingles rash develops into itchy
blisters, usually on one side of the
body, either on the face, chest, back,
abdomen or pelvis. They can take
several weeks to settle.
• Shingles can occur at any age, but it
usually affects older adults. About 1 in
3 people will develop shingles at some
stage during their lifetime.
• In 1 in 10 people, the pain and
tingling of shingles can last for months
or even years. This is called post-
herpetic neuralgia.
Migraine
• A migraine is a powerful headache that often
happens with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light.
Migraines can last from 4 hours to 3 days, and
sometimes longer. The American Migraine Foundation
estimates that more than 36 million Americans get
them, women 3 times more often than men.
• The cause of migraines is not yet known. It is
suspected that they result from abnormal activity in
the brain. This can affect the way nerves communicate
as well as the chemicals and blood vessels in the brain.
Genetics may make someone more sensitive to the
triggers that can cause migraines.
Huntington
Disease
• Huntington's disease is a genetic
disorder affecting the central nervous
system and which causes the
progressive degeneration of brain
cells. This leads to the degeneration of
motor skills and cognitive abilities, as
well as behavioral difficulties.
• Huntington's disease is caused by an
inherited defect in a single gene.
Huntington's disease is an autosomal
dominant disorder, which means that
a person needs only one copy of the
defective gene to develop the disorder.
Agnosia
• Agnosia is the loss of the
ability to recognize objects,
faces, voices, or places. It's a
rare disorder involving one (or
more) of the senses. Agnosia
usually affects only a single
information pathway in the
brain. If you have this
condition you can still think,
speak, and interact with the
world
 Nervous System
The nervous system is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells known as neurons that
transmit signals between different parts of the body. It is essentially the body's electrical wiring.
Structurally, the nervous system has two components: the central nervous system and the peripheral
nervous system.