Matching: Brain Diseases

Question 1

Epilepsy

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Treatment

Answer 1

Symptoms: seizures: convulsions (grand mal), thought/behavior changes (petite mal),

Causes: generated by their own brain dysfunction, brain damage, and/or genes

Treatment: Anticonvulsant medication, vagus nerve stimulation, cut hemispheric connection (only if dangerous/deadly)

Question 2

Parkinson’s

Symptoms

Causes

Treatment

Answer 2

Symptoms: Tremor at rest, pain, involuntary movement.

Causes: Degeneration of the substantia nigra whose neurons use dopamine

Treatment: L-dopa

Question 3

Huntington’s

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Treatment

Answer 3

Symptoms: Progressive motor disorder, associated with jerky limb movement. Dementia is the big differentiator.

Causes: single dominant gene, neural degeneration, loss of inhibitory GABA

Treatment: No cure. Medication can only lessen symptoms.

Question 4

Multiple Sclerosis

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Treatment

Answer 4

Symptoms: Visual disturbance, muscle weakness, numbness, tremor, loss of motor coordination

Causes: Autoimmune disorder. Attack of CNS myelin, leaving CNS scarring. strong genetic predisposition

Treatment: Drugs may retard progession or block some symptoms

Question 5

Alzheimer’s

Symptoms

Causes

Treatment

Answer 5

Symptoms: Confusion, decline in memory

Causes: Neurofibrilary tangles and amyloid plaques. Genes related to amyloid and tau predict early onset.

Mild cognitive impairment is a warning sign.

Treatment: Medication can slow progression, but no cure.