Neurology

Neurology is the medical field that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of the nervous system and how it relates to and interacts with the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves themselves.  The first recorded study of the nervous system was done in the 1700’s.  However, neurology as a separate filed of medicine did not take its own road until doctors started delving deeper into the causes and effects of brain damage and epilepsy on certain parts of brain in the mid 1800’s. 

Neurologist treat adults with neurological disorders but pediatric neurologists are specially trained to treat neurological diseases in children.  They are trained to diagnose and treat headache afflictions such as migraines and seizures.  They also specialize in behavioral syndromes, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's, cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke, sleep disorders, cerebral palsy, encephalitis, meningitis, infections of the peripheral nervous system, and tumors of the brain, spinal cord and nervous system.  Neurologists also treat a host of other brain, spinal cord, and nervous system disorders and injuries.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), more than six-hundred separate disorders are known to afflict the human nervous system.  Fifty million Americans are affected annually by a neurological disorder.  NINDS calculates that neurological disorders cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs and lost productivity, though the actual amount is unknown. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the U.S.  It strikes an estimated 2.7 million people in this country annually and two-hundred thousand new cases are reported every year.  The CDC calculates the cost in medical expenses and lost productivity to be around $15.5 billion annually. According to the CDC, children under the age of two and adults over the age of sixty-five are the most vulnerable.  

• Aphasia
• Acute Memory Disorders
• Dementia
• Hydrocephalus
• Cognitive Impairment
• Spatial Neglect
• Uremic Encephalopathy
• Coma
• Speech and Language Disorders
• Lou Gehrig's Disease   
• Botulism
• Huntington's Disease
• Tourette Syndrome
• Multiple Sclerosis

Neurologists cover an extensive field of science and treat vast array of disorders that affect the body from speech to nervous tics.  The disorders may come from injuries, tumors, infections, chemical imbalance, or any number of maladies.  They can even play havoc with the peripheral nervous system or the autonomic nervous system.  Neurologists in the U.S. must complete an undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, one year of internship and three years of specialized training.

Read about other medical concerns such as: Alcohol Addiction, Alzheimer's, or Pregnancy