Dr. Deepak Kumar

When particular nerve cells in the brain don't function properly, it leads to epilepsy, which is a common brain disorder. There are several variants of epilepsy, and the one that you are suffering from would play a major role in the type of seizure you are likely to have. Here are the two most common type of seizures:

Common types of Seizures

• Generalized seizures: This type of seizures take place when nerve cells on both sides of the brain start misfiring. They may lead to black out, fall or muscle spasms.
• Focal seizures: It starts in a particular area of the brain, and the names of the seizure are based on the affected area of the brain. They may lead to both emotional and physical effects which may affect the way a person feels or sees or hear things that have no real presence. In particular cases, the symptoms of focal seizures are regarded of some other kinds of mental or nervous disorder.

Seizures are not considered an either-or thing since some people tend to have a particular type of seizure which gradually alters its course. It is not always easy to classify certain types of seizures which are called unknown-onset seizures and may lead to both physical and sensory symptoms. Both focal and generalized seizures can be categorized into various groups. The most common are listed below:

Subcategories of focal and generalized seizures

• Simple focal seizures: It may change how the senses read the surroundings of a person. It can make a familiar taste or smell appear strange. Some people feel dizzy or visualize flashes of light or make the affected individual feel nauseated or sweaty.
• Complex focal seizures: It normally happens when a part of the brain which controls emotion and memory gets affected. The affected person may feel awake even when he has lost consciousness. It can take several minutes for a person to come out of the problem.

Secondary generalized seizures: It starts when a part of the brain spreads to the nerve cells. They may lead to a few physical symptoms including muscle slackness and convulsions.
On the other hand, there are six variants of generalized seizures:

• Clinic seizure: The muscles tend to have spasms which make a face, neck, and arms jerk rhythmically. It can last for minutes together.
• Tonic-clonic seizure: These are the most notable type of seizures and leads to stiffening of the body, jerking and shaking along with the loss of consciousness. It can last between 1 to 3 minutes, and in case they go for a longer span, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. It may lead to breathing issues and may cause the person to bite his tongue or cheek.
• Tonic seizures: When the muscled in the legs or arms or trunk tense up for more than 20 seconds, it is called a tonic seizure. If the affected person is in standing position, he or she may end up falling.

Other types of generalized seizure include atonic seizure, absence seizure and myoclonic seizure which are commonly seen in people who have epilepsy.

Multiple Sclerosis or MS is an ailment that is mainly caused due to the degeneration of nerves in the body. The central nervous system is the main area affected by multiple sclerosis and it has been diagnosed that it occurs more in women than men. The main areas that are affected include optic nerves, brain, and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis in other words also means scar tissues in multiple areas. There are 4 types of multiple sclerosis which include clinically isolated syndrome, relapse remitting, primary progressive, and secondary progressive.

Causes of Multiple Sclerosis

1. Multiple sclerosis is regarded as an autoimmune disorder and its exact cause is not known by the doctors. The disease causes demyelination of the brain cells and spinal cord.
2. People in the age group of 15-60 are the ones affected by this disease. According to scientists, the four main factors that cause this disease are virus, genetic, environmental and immunological.
3. It is a long-lasting disease that causes disturbances in the body functions.
4. The condition is examined by the doctors by checking the patient’s medical history, conducting neurological exams, and imaging scans.
5. The spinal fluid analysis is also a procedure that can rule out the possibility of multiple sclerosis.

Symptoms Caused by Multiple Sclerosis

• Some of the symptoms that are caused due to this disease include impaired coordination, pain, vision loss, and fatigue.
• The nerves in our body are coated with myelin sheath that protects the nerves.
• The myelin sheath also aids in the conduction of impulses all through the body.
• Inflammation is caused due to multiple sclerosis which eventually results in thinning and destroying of the sheath.
• The nerve without a coating is left with a scratch and this results in the nerve not functioning properly.
• Severe chronic symptoms are faced by patients so at times pain occurs in the eyes and back. In some patients the symptoms are mild thus the disease is not noticed in the early stages.
• The main symptoms include problems with thinking, memory, muscle weakness, numbness, and tingling. Many people even find trouble in walking due to multiple sclerosis.

Effects of Multiple Sclerosis

• The main effects of multiple sclerosis include problems like frequent urination or difficulty in emptying the bladder completely.
• It can also cause bowel problems, sexual dysfunction, vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, tremor, muscle spasms, depression, emotional changes, and inflammation of the optic nerve.
• The lesser known symptoms include swallowing problems, speech disorders, hearing loss, itching, breathing problems, and headache.
• It is an unpredictable disease and people are affected by this disease in different ways. In the early stages, it occurs as a subtle sensation for many people.

For more information on the disease and its causes, you must visit a medical practitioner near you.

Getting hallucinations is a mental condition where a person sees, feels, hears, and tastes things that actually don't exist beyond one's heightened imagination or delusion. It involves the experience of perceiving something not present.  Hallucinations can be pleasing or frightening. However, there is almost always an identifiable cause behind it. 

They can be triggered by:

1. Taking hallucinogenic or psychotropic substances
2. Mental conditions like dementia and schizophrenia
3. Neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease
4. Macular degeneration, leading to loss of vision
5. Migraines and brain tumor can also lead to such delusions

Some of the signs of hallucinations:

1. Hearing voices: The medical term for hearing voices is called an 'auditory hallucination'. A person may sense sounds or noises coming from inside or outside of their mind. The noise might be random or disrupting. One might also feel the voices talking to each other or trying to tell them something. Most of the times, these voices come from inside the person's mind; or in some cases, one's heightened perception may make a normal noise delusional.
2. Seeing things: This is also called visual hallucinations. For instance, one may see unnatural things like a floating chair in thin air. It all depends on a person's perception. Sometimes these hallucinations appear as bright flashy spots or rays of light.
3. False sense of taste and smell: Technically, these are known as gustatory and olfactory hallucinations respectively. One may feel a kind of odor coming from one's body or surrounding; or a person might feel that something he/she is drinking or eating has an odd taste. This is again too much thinking, causing delusional sensory activities. 
4. Tactile hallucinations: This is when a person feels things that don't exist. One may feel that he/she is being touched or tickled even when no one else is around or that insects are crawling beneath the skin. One may experience strange sensations, which are not a part of a reality.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological, irreversible, progressive brain disorder. It is a chronic neurodegenerative dementia that causes the death of brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. It affects a person’s thinking and behavior. The symptoms develop slowly and get worse as time passes.

Causes:
As it is a kind of dementia, Alzheimer’s is caused by the death of brain cells. Over a course of time, brain cells die progressively and at the end, the tissue is left with fewer nerve cells and connections. As a result, the total brain size shrinks. Tiny inclusions called plaques and tangles can be seen in the postmortem. These cannot be seen or tested in a living Alzheimer’s affected brain. These plaques are given the name “amyloid plaques” because they are found among the dying cells of the brain when a protein called beta-amyloid builds. The tangles stay in the neurons; they are formed from a protein called tau.

There are several reasons behind all this, some of which are listed below-

1. Anti-anxiety medications
2. Hitting on the head too many times
3. Regularly sleep-deprived
4. Loneliness
5. Diabetes in the brain
6. Old age
7. Genetic line
8. Down’s syndrome
9. Cardiovascular diseases

Symptoms:
Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain, so the clinical signs and symptoms begin to show very early. The symptoms are-

1. Memory loss
2. Agitation and mood swings
3. Poor judgment
4. The trouble with money calculations
5. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
6. Trouble in planning or solving a problem
7. Confusion with time and place
8. Difficulty in communicating
9. Loss of motivation
10. Inappropriate behavior
11. Aggressive personality
12. Childlike behavior

Preventing Alzheimer’s disease:
Alzheimer’s disease ultimately results in death. Even if there are treatments, they cannot fully cure it. So it’s better to try to prevent it before it happens. Ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease are-

1. Eating more fruits and vegetables.
2. Eating berries every day.
3. Increasing omega-3 fatty acids.
4. Taking folic acid supplements.
5. Drinking grape juice or red wine with evening meal.
6. Doing the Mediterranean style diet.
7. Controlling the blood pressure.
8. Having strong social support.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease:

1. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is a long time process.
2. First of all, doctors perform a physical exam to check the overall neurological health. By this, they check muscle strength, reflexes, walking ability, sense of sight and hearing, coordination and balance.
3. Then comes the blood test to find the cause of confusion and memory loss by checking the thyroid disorder and vitamin deficiency.
4. Then they perform the neuropsychological test and check the mental status.
5. Then there are other tests, like MRI, CT, and PET.
6. After all this, drugs are given and a safe and supportive environment is created with proper exercise and nutrition.

Alzheimer’s disease is undoubtedly the worst kind of disease. Hence, it is highly recommended to contact a doctor as soon as any symptom is noticed.

What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive and degenerative disorder of the Central Nervous System that mostly affects older people. It is a chronic disease and the symptoms develop over a period of time. The characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s are rigidity, shaking, bradykinesia (slowness in movement) and shuffled gait. Anxiety and depression also seem to be common in advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. In addition to the motor symptoms, the cognitive function of the brain is also compromised.

Degeneration of the nerve cells in the substantia nigra of the brain results in the reduction in production of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter in the brain. Neurotransmitters relay impulses from one nerve to the other. This is what is mainly responsible for the motor symptoms in Parkinson’s. Although, Parkinson’s is not a curable disease, it can be controlled and the progress of the disease can be kept in check with certain medications.

What causes Parkinson’s disease?
The cause of Parkinson’s is mostly idiopathic, i.e. the cause is unknown and is not specific. However, there have been cases which show that it can be attributed to factors such as genetic and environmental factors.
What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s?

The symptoms of Parkinson’s can be classified as Motor symptoms and Non-motor symptoms:

Motor Symptoms 

• Bradykinesia: Slow movement
• Tremor of limbs
• Rigidity or stiffness of trunk and limbs
• Impaired balance and difficulty in coordination or postural instability

Non-motor Symptoms 

• Depression
• Anxiety and fear
• Loss of energy and fatigue
• Constipation
• Excessive salivation
• Weight gain or weight loss
• Cognitive problems such as difficulty in remembering, confusion, dementia

Parkinson’s disease is not curable, but when detected early, medicines are prescribed to give symptomatic relief. Dopamine substitutes are prescribed to the patient to relieve the motor symptoms.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), otherwise called Alzheimer's, is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that gets progressively worse over time. This condition may start with acute anxiety and dementia, for certain patients. It begins gradually and becomes worse after some time. It is the reason behind almost sixty to seventy percent of the dementia cases. The most well known early indication is trouble in remembering recent events and occasions also known as short-term memory loss.

As the disease progresses, indications can include issues with speech, confusion (effortlessly getting lost), mood swings, loss of inspiration, overseeing self-care and behavioural issues. As the patient’s condition worsens, they regularly pull back from family and society. Over time, bodily functions are lost. Despite the fact that the speed of progression of the disease can differ, the average life expectancy is three to nine years.

• Immunity Matters: Immune cells that ordinarily help us battle off bacterial and viral infections may assume a far more prominent part in Alzheimer's disease than expected. A number of immune system particles have been connected to Alzheimer's disease. Many of them having been identified in the brain tissues of Alzheimer's patients.
• Neuroinflammation: Neuroinflammation is, by definition, irritation of the sensory or nervous tissue. This term is generally connected with endless aggravation and chronic inflammation. In spite of the fact that we realise that the immune system is in charge of setting off this inflammation, how this happens has not been totally understood yet. The immune system has been seen as the first line of defence to threats and dangers to the brain. It is quickly activated and takes care of the danger with an inflammatory response which causes the condition of Alzheimer’s to worsen.
• Microglia: Irritation in a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's is driven essentially by immune cells living in the central nervous system, to be specific microglia. With regards to Alzheimer's, microglia cells can detect the presence of protein totals and react to them. It is believed that the development of Alzheimer's disease may originate from the microglia’s lost capacity to react to A-beta accumulation, therefore allowing its aggregation to continue. This view is upheld by genetic studies in patients with Alzheimer's disease portraying transformations in immune molecules that can trade off microglia's responsiveness.
• Other Signs: Other than genetics, there are different signs that indicate an association with the immune system in the advancement of the disease. These include, for instance, a few immunological links found in the cerebrospinal liquid of Alzheimer's patients from the beginning or epidemiologic proof showing that the prolonged treatment with nonsteroidal mitigating drugs lessens the danger of creating Alzheimer's. Hence, where the immune system acts as a defence mechanism, it can also act as a trigger in some cases that could cause or enhance the Alzheimer’s disease even further.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

The tissue in the brain does not heal in the same way as the tissues in the rest of the body. A traumatic incident such as an accident involving the head, a fall or a gunshot can damage and destroy brain tissue. The extent of this damage depends on the force exerted on the head. Recovering from such accidents can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. No two people recover in the same way and hence it is difficult to set a universal timetable to this recovery. Some people make a full recovery and go back to living their normal lifestyle while others may need help throughout their lives.

• In the first few weeks after the injury, the tissues inside the brain are likely to be swollen and the patient may have internal bleeding. As a result, the person may be in a coma and unaware of the happening around him or her. In this state, the patient will not be responsive to external stimuli of any kind and will be unable to communicate with others.
• As the swelling subsides, the brain tissue functioning will improve. Though the patient’s eyes may still remain closed, he or she may begin to show signs of responsive behavior. With time, he or she may open their eyes and they may begin to experience irregular sleep-wake cycles. At the point, the patient may be said to be in a vegetative state.After some time, the person may also begin to respond to family members and display an ability to follow simple commands. This is known as a minimally conscious stage.
• Caregivers will need to be very patient with the person as at this stage as inconsistent behavior is very common. The person may appear nervous and restless and may often feel frustrated with his or her inability to do things they were able to before the accident. Some days could be very productive while on others, the person may not be able to pay attention to commands or complete actions that they could do on the previous day. The patient may also turn aggressive or overreact to stimuli.
• These first few stages of recovery usually happen within six months of the accident. Between six months and two years from the accident, the brain will slowly regain its functionality. Improvements slow down after two years but may still continue for many years. It is important to remember that the rate of recovery varies from person to person.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

The brain contains numerous nerve cells which help in its normal functioning. Epilepsy or seizures occur when there is a disruption in the activity of the nerve cells in the brain. A neurological disorder of the CNS (Central Nervous System), epilepsy can affect all and sundry, irrespective of their age, sex and ethnicity. However, children and aged people (above 60 years) are more susceptible to the condition. A study suggests approximately 10 million people in India suffer from epilepsy.

Types of Epilepsy
Based on the activity of the brain that causes an epileptic attack, Epilepsy can be of two types - Focal or Generalized
Focal Epilepsy: An epileptic attack triggered by unusual activities restricted to a particular area of the brain.

• In some cases, focal epilepsy may result in unconsciousness. A person may also lose awareness and become unresponsive (keeps staring into space), a condition termed as Focal Dyscognitive Seizures. A person with this condition may behave strange, such as walking in circles, chewing or rubbing their hands.
• In another type of focal epilepsy known as Focal seizures without loss of consciousness, a person does not lose consciousness. In such cases, there may be sudden and involuntary jerking of the arms or the legs. There may also be dizziness or a tingling sensation.

Generalized Epilepsy: Here, the seizures or epilepsy result from unusual activities throughout the brain. Generalized epilepsy, may, in turn, be of the following subtypes

• Tonic seizures: This affects the muscles of the legs, arms, or the back, causing them to stiffen and tighten up.
• Atonic seizures: Here, a person may suddenly fall down due to loss of muscle control. The condition is also known as Drop Seizures.
• Absence seizures: Mostly affecting children, the affected person may lose awareness (temporary) and behave strangely such as staring into spacing, smacking their lips, or blinking their eyes continuously.
• Clonic seizures: They are characterized by sudden and continuous jerking movements of the arms, face, and neck muscles.
• Tonic-clonic seizures: Here, a person may suddenly lose consciousness. There are violent shaking and stiffening of the body. Some people may even be seen biting their tongue.
• Myoclonic seizures: In this arms, and legs of a person suddenly twitches and jerks.

What triggers an Epilepsy?
Epilepsy may be an outcome of the following factors

• Medical conditions such as stroke or even brain tumors may affect the normal activities of the brain, thereby resulting in epilepsy. Diseases such as Viral Encephalitis, AIDS or Meningitis act also act as a trigger, accelerating the chances of epilepsy.
• Developmental disorders such as Neurofibromatosis or Autism can also trigger epilepsy.
• In some cases, epilepsy may be a genetic predisposition. Thus, a person with a family history of epilepsy may suffer from the condition.
• Epilepsy may also be an outcome of a prenatal brain injury due to oxygen deficiency or an infection to the mother.
• People with dementia may also suffer from an epileptic attack.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder involving the nervous system. It can start with a mere tremor of one hand and advances to slow movement and stiffness. The face might show little no symptoms in the beginning but the speech might become slurred. With every passing day, the condition worsens. This condition has no permanent cure but the symptoms can be improved with proper medication.

What are the symptoms?
Some unmistakable symptoms include the following:

• A sudden shaking of the limb. A sudden tremor of the hand is a very common symptom of this disease.
• A stiffness of the muscles that can limit the range of motion and sharp pain.
• The posture of the body might get compromised. Often balancing problems are witnessed among many patients.
• There could be problems with speech leading to soft, slurry or quick speech. The speech in some cases can become monotonous devoid of inflexions.
• Parkinson’s disease can lead to slow movement and makes performing of simple tasks difficult.
• Patients often find writing very difficult

What are the possible causes of Parkinson’s disease?

• Specific genetic mutation can lead to Parkinson’s disease in folks who have a family history of Parkinson’s disease. Certain variations of the gene increase the risk of this disease
• Exposure to certain environmental factors or certain toxins can trigger Parkinson’s disease in an individual.
• Certain cells in the brain known as Lewy bodies can trigger Parkinson’s disease.
• A certain kind of protein cells within the brain known as alpha-synuclein can trigger the Parkinson’s disease in an individual

What are the risk factors?

• Heredity: Having an immediate family member or a close relative suffering from Parkinson’s disease can increase the risk of getting this disease in an individual
• Age: Although not a prime risk factor, but an individual over the age of over 60 have an increased risk of getting this disease
• Toxins: Exposure to pesticide or certain herbicide increase the risk of Parkinson’s
• Sex: Men are more likely to get Parkinson’s disease than women

What is the medication for Parkinson’s disease?

• Carbidopa-levodopa: This is a natural chemical that gets passed to the brain and is converted to dopamine by the body. The benefits of this medication might reduce with increased symptoms.
• Carbidopa-levodopa infusion: A popular drug in this category is known as the Duopa. It is administered directly into the small intestine in the form of gel through a feeding tube.
• MAO-B inhibitors: Drugs from this group include rasagiline and selegiline. This is a powerful medicine. Many patient experiences hallucination during the initial days of consuming these drugs.
• Anticholinergics: This medication is mainly used to counter tremors of the limbs in the early stage of the Parkinson’s disease.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

It is common belief that alcohol consumption is a social menace and is injurious to health. It is the third leading lifestyle causes of death in the United States and takes a toll on the health care costs of the country. Many organs like the liver, kidney, heart, and brain are affected in people who are addicted to alcohol. However, it has been proven that alcohol consumption in minor amounts can have beneficial effects on the human body including the heart.

The side effects depend on a number of factors listed below.

• Type of alcohol consumption (social or habitual drinker)
• Amount of alcohol consumed
• Frequency of drinking
• Age, gender, and genetic predisposition of the person to develop alcohol-related diseases
• Family history of alcoholism and its related diseases
• Age at which the person started drinking
• The number of years that a person has been consuming alcohol
• Overall health condition of the person
• Exposure to alcohol as a fetus

Like the adage goes, anything in excess is bad. It is not necessary that a habitual or social drinker who consumes a drink or two per week would end up with these issues. In fact, if recent studies are to be believed, mild to moderate intake of alcohol does have a benefit to overall health.

• The cardiovascular benefits are the most prominent. Red wine and beer, in particular, are shown to provide benefits against cardiovascular damage in the long run. This could be due to the antioxidant properties of red wine. Alcohol itself (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) also has a positive effect. Some varieties of beer, porter and stout varieties in particular, are also shown to be beneficial. The anti-inflammatory properties and antiatherogenic (effect on plaque formation in the blood vessel) are what contribute to these positive effects.
• There is evidence to show that cholesterol profile is improved (good cholesterol increase) and clotting function is improved in people who have mild alcohol consumption.
• The insulin sensitivity is also better, leading to better control of sugar levels.
• Light alcohol consumption also is believed to reduce the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. However, heavy alcohol consumption is believed to increase the risk of stroke and other cerebral events.
• Limited alcohol use is also linked with reduced risk of dementia. Heavy consumption leads to faster memory decline.
• The key to note is that these benefits are only when the alcohol consumption is mild to moderate. In excess, the negative effects of alcohol are well established and numerous. Some of the most significant ones being cirrhosis of the liver and cancers of various organs including mouth, liver, larynx, oesophagus, colon, breast, pancreas, etc. To reduce these effects, alcohol screening and brief counselling to reduce habituation are helpful. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Neurologist.