One of the most complex systems in our body is the nervous system. At the same time, her ailments are diagnosed as often as the pathologies of other anatomical departments. The causes of disorders of the nervous system and their symptoms have been studied by experts quite well. What causes failures in the functioning of this department? How are these pathologies diagnosed and treated?
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The human nervous system is made up of billions of neuron cells, from which branch off in the form of tiny processes. These neurons interact with each other every second thanks to synapses - special mechanisms that coordinate their interaction.
In the structure of the nervous system, two departments are conditionally distinguished, which are complementary and affect biological elements and other organs. One of them is vegetative, and the second is somatic. First department in responsefor all metabolic processes occurring in the organs, for the release of fluid from the body and the performance of the main function of the lungs, namely the respiratory.
Thanks to the somatic nervous system, a person is able to interact with the environment. The coordinated work of cells allows him to feel pain from contact with a hot object, irritation caused by a bee sting, etc. Somatic neurons are completely responsible for the motor activity of our body, as well as muscle contraction.
Despite the different directions of work of these two systems, they have an inextricable link between them. In the absence of violations, they influence each other and are able to work harmoniously. But at the same time, the somatic department of the nervous system is dependent on the inaction or action of a person who either stands, walks, raises or lowers his hand, etc. As for the autonomic nervous system, it is completely autonomous. Man's desires are powerless to influence her.
According to the morphological features, the nervous system is divided into peripheral and central. Their work is carried out separately. However, the peripheral and central nervous systems are completely dependent on each other. What are these departments? The central nervous system includes the spinal cord and brain. The peripheral nerves include the spinal and cranial nerves, as well as all neural plexuses.
Main Functions
Only with the perfect functioning of the entire nervous system, the normal functioning of all organs of the human body without exception will be carried out. What is the main jobneural cells?
- Starting function. Allows you to start or pause the organ. For example, with its help, the muscles of the human body are activated. When sneezing, they contract in the chest area, and when squatting - in the legs and back. Also, the starting function leads to the secretion of glands. An example is the release of sweat during increased physical activity.
- Vasomotor. This feature regulates blood flow. This happens due to the influence of the nervous system on the vessels, which, as a result, either expand or contract.
- Trophic. This function is responsible for the decrease or increase in metabolic processes in the body. The intensity of the supply of oxygen and essential nutrients to each cell of the body directly depends on it.
The functions listed above, which nature has assigned to the nervous system, are closely related to each other. At the same time, they constantly coordinate the functioning of both a separate body and all of them taken together. For example, impulses passing along the nerve fibers to the muscles lead to their contraction. At the same time, the expansion of blood vessels occurs and the process of nutrient exchange between cells starts. That is why, in case of disorders of the nervous system, the sides of the pathology may have a different character, because failures will occur in different directions.
One of the most common disorders of the nervous system is an inflammatory process that covers neuronalcells located in the hand. This happens either with injury or with excessive loads. In this case, a violation occurs in the peripheral nervous system. A person in such cases is not even able to raise his hand to the required height. The limb ceases to cope with the functions assigned to it. This happens due to a nerve rupture. After all, at the same time, impulses cease to flow from neurons to the hand.
NS Pathologies
There is a classification of diseases of the nervous system. They are divided into five types in medicine, namely:
- hereditary ailments;
- pathologies of an infectious nature;
- malfunctions in the functioning of the vascular system, occurring both constantly and periodically;
- traumatic diseases;
- chronic illnesses.
Disorders of the nervous system, which are hereditary, in turn, may be a chromosomal abnormality or a genetic disease. Such pathologies are completely subject to nature and do not depend on man. The most striking example of a chromosomal abnormality is Down's disease.
Infectious disorders in the nervous system are associated with exposure to helminths, harmful microorganisms and fungi. Often this pathology is manifested by encephalitis of various etiologies, accompanied by recurrent sensations of nausea, headaches, vomiting, lapses of consciousness and high fever.
Disorders of the nervous system are often associated with malfunctions of blood vessels. Their appearance is evidenced by hypertension and the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques. There is a similar violation in the autonomic nervous system. At the same time, a person complains of pain in the temples, often a feeling of nausea, loss of strength and lethargy.
Disturbances of the nervous system can occur as a result of a head injury or bruises. This effect is also the cause of the failure of neuronal cells. With traumatic lesions, severe throbbing headaches occur, temporary loss of consciousness occurs, and in the most severe cases, there are memory lapses, confusion, loss of reaction in the limbs or in certain parts of the body.
In case of metabolic disorders in the body, with past infections, intoxications, as well as with an abnormal structure of neurons, chronic diseases develop. They are also the causes of disorders of the nervous system. One of the most common diseases in the elderly is sclerosis. This pathology gradually progresses with age and has a negative impact on the functioning of all vital organs.
Causes of NS pathologies
What causes disturbances in the human nervous system? The main underlying causes of all known NS pathologies are:
- penetration of pathogens into the body;
- HIV infection, influenza, herpes;
- brain contusions of varying severity;
- ingestion of heavy metals with air, water and food;
- poor diet and starvation;
- uncontrolled use of pharmaceuticals;
- brain tumors.
Classification of NS pathologies and their signs
Diseases of the nervous system, as a rule, manifest themselves in the form of certain symptoms. It happens that ailments do not make themselves felt for years, but in the end their signs become apparent. A similar course, for example, is characteristic of the so-called slow infections, including mad cow disease.
Symptoms of disorders of the nervous system are grouped into syndromes that are easy to detect during a neurological examination. Consider the classification of the main diseases of the central nervous system and their symptoms:
- Disorders of voluntary movements. The main symptoms of disorders of the nervous system of the spinal cord and brain are complete or partial paralysis. The second of them are called paresis. In addition to the lack of the possibility of full-fledged movements and weakness in a person with paralysis, muscle spasticity also occurs. At the same time, pathological reflexes become noticeable and tendon reflexes increase.
- Disorders of consciousness. This group of disorders in the functioning of the nervous system includes episyndrome and epilepsy. They are characterized by symptoms such as hyperkinesis, coordination disorders, gait changes, tremors, imbalance, dizziness, muscle rigidity, akinesis. Similar signs arise due to lesions of the cerebellum or the extrapyramidal system responsible for unconscious automatic movements.
- Severe headaches of bursting nature, with vomiting. Similarsymptoms are characteristic of meningitis. When encephalitis occurs, in addition to the signs of damage to the nervous system described above, headaches are added in the morning with a simultaneous progressive decrease in vision.
- Lesses of the cerebral cortex, accompanied by various disorders of the intellect and memory, as well as dementia. Among them are Pick's disease, Alzheimer's disease, etc.
- Acute circulatory disorders of the brain (hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke), as well as atherosclerosis, malformation, etc.
- Craniocerebral injuries, including the most severe type - diffuse axonal injury.
Diseases of the nervous system are classified according to various criteria.
This may be, for example, the nature of the pathological process or its localization. Also, NS diseases are divided into organic and functional. But in terms of their course, they are acute, subacute and chronic.
Organic NS lesions
Disturbances in the nervous system are irreversible. They are organic. This happens when the neurons die irrevocably. It is believed that organic disorders of the nervous system are observed in almost all people (96-99%), regardless of gender and age. In life, various situations occur, as a result of which one or another number of neurons dies. However, if not too many of them were lost and they were not responsible for the basic vital functions, then the organic disorder of the central nervous system can be classified as mild.the degree of damage that has subtle symptoms.
Pathology caused by the death of neurons can be congenital or acquired. The cause of the first of them is stress and diseases that a woman suffered during pregnancy. Toxic factors, as well as bad habits of a woman, can have a negative effect on the fetus. Diseases belonging to this group can occur during childbirth and in the initial stages of the postpartum period. As for acquired organic pathologies of the nervous system, they develop after injuries and strokes, cerebral infarction, with tumors and infections.
Symptoms of organic CNS damage
The presence and nature of the manifestation of signs of irreversible processes in the central nervous system will be directly related to the localization and number of dead cells. In adult patients, the pathology is manifested by paralysis and paresis, hearing and vision loss, dizziness and headaches. A rather serious symptom indicating an organic lesion of the central nervous system are malfunctions in the functioning of the pelvic organs in the form of fecal and urinary incontinence. Sometimes in such patients sleep is disturbed, epileptic seizures occur. They complain of fatigue and irritability, as well as mental disorders. Against the background of these symptoms, a decrease in immunity is often observed.
Organic disorder in the nervous system in children, especially if it is congenital, is manifested by more serious symptoms. At an early age, thesechildren can experience serious delays in the development of speech and motor skills, as well as the psyche, which subsequently leads to poor academic performance, memory impairment, intellectual deficiency, etc.
Functional disorders of the NS
Sometimes signs of pathology of the nervous system appear, and then disappear, leaving no changes. These are functional disorders of the central nervous system caused by violations of neurodynamic processes. It is believed that failures in the interaction between inhibitory and excitatory processes occurring in the cerebral cortex lead to such ailments. They are caused by two types of factors - exogenous and endogenous. The first of them include various infections, psychotrauma, intoxication, etc. Endogenous factors are considered hereditary features that are characteristic of the human nervous system.
Among the diseases caused by functional disorders are vascular paroxysms, as well as various "masks" of depression and anxiety. In this case, a violation occurs in the autonomic nervous system, which is characterized by the development of such problems:
- malfunctions in intestinal motility;
- decrease in muscle tissue nutrition;
- disturbance of skin sensitivity;
- appearance of signs of allergy.
The initial signs of functional disorders are the symptoms of neurasthenia. They are expressed in the fact that a person begins to get angry at the slightest reason, is inactive and quickly gets tired.
Diagnosis
When the first symptoms of disorders in the functioning of the nervous system appear, the patient shouldseek medical advice. If, when examining a person, the doctor suspects an existing disease, then he will be able to apply one of the examination methods in the early stages of the disease. Among them:
- Instrumental diagnostics. In this case, the examination of systems and organs is carried out using mechanical devices and instruments. These methods include ultrasound, endoscopy, radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, neurosonography and some others.
- Laboratory research. They represent the analysis of biomaterial, carried out with the help of special devices. These are studies in which special reagents and optical microscopy (serological and biochemical analyzes) are used, and microbial cultures are studied on a nutrient medium.
- Neurological testing. When using this technique, the doctor will apply various scales and tests. The results obtained will allow assessing the neurological status of the patient.
Treatment
When the diagnosis is confirmed and the doctor identifies the causes that provoked the disease, the tactics of applying therapeutic measures should be determined. Pathologies of the nervous system require long-term treatment due to their recurrent nature. It is impossible for a patient to get rid of congenital and genetic ailments. In such cases, therapy involves reducing the severity of symptoms and maintaining the person's normal vitality.
Easier to treat acquired diseases of the nervous system. But for this, you need to see a doctor already whenthe appearance of the first signs of illness.
What will be the treatment measures? Their protocol will depend on the form of the pathology and the condition of the patient. Treatment can be carried out both at home (for insomnia, migraine and neuralgia), and in a hospital if urgent medical measures are needed.
Complex therapy is needed to get rid of the ailments of the nervous system. That is why, in addition to taking medication, the patient, as a rule, is prescribed physiotherapeutic procedures and physiotherapy exercises, psychological support is provided, and diet therapy is recommended. In the most difficult cases, surgery is performed.
Prevention
Prevention of disturbances in the activity of the nervous system and their prevention is possible when appropriate measures are taken. They will allow not only to prevent the disease, but also to maintain positive results of treatment.
What measures allow preventing disorders of the nervous system and their prevention in a timely manner? The main preventive measures include seeking medical advice at the first sign of pathology. If the disease was diagnosed earlier, then the patient must undergo regular medical examinations
Prevention of disorders of the nervous system and their prevention becomes possible by giving up bad habits, maintaining a balanced diet, as well as regular walks in the fresh air. To avoid the disease will allow compliance with the regime of wakefulness and sleep,moderate physical activity, as well as limiting or eliminating any provoking factors (high psychosocial stress, stressful situations, etc.). The practice of autogenic training is recommended. They will allow you to restore mental balance during stress and emotional tension.
