Aphasia is a neurological disorder that results from damage to the brain, specifically the portions responsible for language. For most people, these parts of the brain are located on the left side of the brain. This disorder occurs suddenly, often as a result of a head injury of stroke. However, sometimes it may develop slowly, such as in the case of a brain tumor, infection or dementia. Aphasia impairs understanding of language, expression, reading and writing.
Although anyone may develop the disorder, most of the people who are diagnosed with aphasia are middle-aged or older. According to the National Aphasia Association, there are about 80,000 cases of aphasia each year, only from strokes. There are about one million people in the United States currently living with aphasia.
People with aphasia speak in short or incomplete sentences that do not make sense, use unrecognizable words, interpret figurative language literally, begin to make spelling errors and lose the ability to read and write. It is important to see a doctor when the person begins having trouble speaking or comprehending speech.
Aphasia is diagnosed through tests to measure language skills and comprehension. These tests assess the person’s ability to name common objects, engage in a conversation and understand and use words correctly, among others. A computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may also be performed to quickly identify what’s causing the aphasia. The treatment for aphasia is speech therapy.
On August 30, the Science Daily revealed that a finding that sheds new light on the neural mechanisms involved in social behavior. Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have pinpointed the brain structure responsible for our sense of personal space which scientist hope to gain insight from into autism and other disorders pertinent to social distance.
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OCD is a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) aimed at reducing the anxiety. Recently however, OCD has been drastically more impacting teenagers than the rest of the population. According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of teenagers diagnosed with the disorder jumped 58 percent from 1,824 in 2005 to 2,878 last year.
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According to the CDC, more than 140,000 people in the U.S. die each year from stroke, making it the country’s second leading cause of death for women, and the third for men. About 795,000 strokes occur each year. At least one quarter occur in people younger than 65 which makes it a health subject important to several age groups. In a recent publication from St. Agnes Hospital, Dr. Marian LaMonte, neurology chief at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore offered the following advice about strokes:
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A mother’s eyes tell the whole story. A new mother doesn’t have to even open her mouth to tell anyone because the bags under her eyes tell the whole story. Often times, mothers feel as though they have no control over their baby’s sleeping patterns, well right fully so says Brandon Overman, a neurologist from Minneapolis. But, as stated in the Wiley Journal of Sleep Research, there are some tools that mothers can utilize to help their chances of adjusting the sleeping patterns of their babies.
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A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain and according to the CDC is currently the third leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors are currently exhausting their resources in order to generate a method in which they could stimulate and control the blood flow in a stroke patient’s body in order to prevent further damage. According to a study by Italian researchers published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association researchers found blood flow and respiratory rates can sync with music, indicating that music could one day be a therapeutic tool for blood supply control and rehabilitation.
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Anxiety disorders are continuing to become more and more commonly diagnosed by doctors in America as the Anxiety Disorders Association of American (AADA) reported that over 18% of the U.S. population in 2008 suffered from an anxiety disorder. The more freighting fact is that the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 1 in 5 U.S. children suffer from anxiety disorders, but often go undiagnosed or mistreated. Delay in diagnosis and treatment can lead to depression, substance abuse and poor academic performance throughout childhood and adulthood. While the common consensus in the medical world is that anxiety disorders are biological and must be treated with medication, a recent study by John Hopkins University revealed that he key to reducing anxiety symptoms in the children was to treat the entire family.
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Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape, and being closed in. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder and often results in a rather severe panic attack. One study conducted by University of Wisconsin-Madison’s neurology department revealed that anywhere from 2-5% of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia, but only a small percentage of these people receive some kind of treatment for the disorder. Epigee.org recently released an article which discussed the origins behind the causes of claustrophobia.
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According to the CDC, insomnia, anxiety disorder and depression combined affect a third of the United States population as they are some the most common diagnosed neurological disorders. Recently, the question has been raised asking if there could be some sort of link between the disorders. According to a HealthDay News article published on June 8th U.S. researchers identified a potential link between anxiety and insomnia in adolescents.
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Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Due to its devastating effects, there is countless research being done in the field of neurology to develop methodologies and process that will lessen the risk of stroke. Recently, HealthDay Reporter published an article stating that taking cholesterol lowering statins after a stroke reduces the risk of a second stroke.
