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What is Neurology?
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue, such as muscle. Physicians who specialize in neurology are called neurologists, and are trained to investigate, diagnose and treat neurological disorders. Pediatric neurologists treat neurological disease in children. Neurologists may also be involved in clinical research, clinical trials, as well as basic research and translational research. In the United Kingdom, contributions to the field of Neurology stem from various professions; saliently, several biomedical research scientists are choosing to specialize in the technical/laboratory aspects of one of neurology's subdisciplines.
Neurological disorders are disorders that can affect the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), the peripheral nervous system, or the autonomic nervous system.
Major conditions include:
- behavioral/cognitive syndromes
- headache disorders such as migraine, cluster headache and tension headache
- seizure disorders
- neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). licerebrovascular disease, such as transient ischemic attack and stroke.
- sleep disorders
- cerebral palsy
- infections of the brain (encephalitis), brain meninges (meningitis), spinal cord (myelitis)
- infections of the peripheral nervous system
- neoplasms - tumors of the brain and its meninges (brain tumors), spinal cord tumors, tumors of the peripheral nerves (neuroma)
- movement disorders such as Parkinsons disease, Huntingtons disease, hemiballismus, tic disorder, and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
- demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, and of the peripheral nervous system, such as Guillain-BarrŽ syndrome and chronic inflammatory
- demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- spinal cord disorders - tumors, infections, trauma, malformations (e.g., myelocele, meningomyelocele, tethered cord)
- disorders of peripheral nerves, muscle (myopathy) and neuromuscular junctions
- traumatic injuries to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
- altered mental status, encephalopathy, stupor and coma
- speech and language disorders
