Which neurological disorder causes a person to either stop talking or talk too much?

If the loss of speech is rapid, can be a stroke.

Loss of speech can be observed in patients with multiple sclerosis, but in this case, there are other, more significant symptoms.

If loss of speech is recurrent, it can be symptom of disorganized or catatonic schyzophrenia. Also with other symptoms as disorganised thinking or sudden freezing of body.

Also loss of speech can be observed after sudden traumatic experience.

Brain trauma, epilepsy, and brain hemmorage or brain tumour, can cause brain damage causing loss of speech.

Also patient, may not want to speak, it is possible.

Possible is damage to vocal chords.

In case of talking too much, there can be few explanations.

Tourette syndrome is one of them. Characterized by tics and sudden vocal expressions.

Also abuse of drugs as methamphetamine, can cause thought flow.

People with ADHD can cause effusive concentration to debate, and thus, patients cannot easily stop their monologue.

Also, in manic phase of bipolar disorder, patients are unstoppable in their thought flow.

Asperger's patients are also known to talking too much.

Persons with Narcissistic personality disorder are used to talking too much, and be always centre of attention.

There are many, many explanations, but in every case, you have to consider other symptoms.

But, in way as you formalised your question, you are asking of sudden changes of mutism and rapid talk. I bet on rapid cycling bipolar disease, with sudden changes in depression and manic phase. Or disorganized schizophrenia with disorganized thought flow and rapid moments of sudden mutism. In every cases, it is not normal, and person should search for help.

 Reference: Michal Stefancík

When Alzheimer's patients are at the end stage, how can that end be encouraged legally?

To my knowledge, there is no way to legally encourage the death of anyone else, including patients with Alzheimer’s who are at the end stage.

Assisting someone of sound mind who is dying with their choices for acts which augment their end of life experience is something some states allow by a written health directive.

Euthanasia is murder, legally speaking. The theories behind the prohibition of euthanasia are:

·         Moral. How can we tell if ending a life is just result? How can we tell if the patient wants to be euthanized if they can not communicate? Or even if they did once wish to be euthanized if they ever couldn’t communicate, how do we know whether that wish is still their desire/what if they changed their mind?

·         Social. How do create a society in which euthanasia is not used to create a society which prefers younger or more able bodied people over all others?

·         Religious. Some people believe a life should last until its natural end and others believe even with all the medical science extant to keep people alive, that life should be prolonged until death, regardless of cost or any consequences.

In practice, I have seen circumstances in hospitals where doctors and family members united in their efforts to expedite a loved one’s certain and imminent death in order to alleviate excruciating suffering. This was euthanasia in fact, accomplished by increasing the dosage of morphine via intravenous drip until respiration was slowed, and then stopped.

Reference: Nan Waldman

What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s?

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the most common movement disorder. It is characterized by progressive loss of muscle control, which leads to trembling of the limbs and head while at rest, stiffness, slowness, and impaired balance. As symptoms worsen, it may become difficult to walk, talk, and complete simple tasks.

·         Primary symptoms include

·         tremor,

·         stiffness,

·         slowness,

·         impaired balance,

·         and later on a shuffling gait.

·         Some secondary symptoms include

·         anxiety,

·         depression, and

·         Dementia.

Most individuals with Parkinson's disease are diagnosed when they are 60 years old or older, but early-onset Parkinson's disease also occurs.

With proper treatment, most individuals with Parkinson's disease can lead long, productive lives for many years after diagnosis.

Reference: Peter Smith

What are some benefits to getting an adequate amount of sleep?

1.Your whole body and mind get rejuvenated.

2.Your energy level gets a boost. This comes from your diurnal hormone rhythm. If we go to sleep between 10 PM and 11 PM and sleep for 7 to 8 hours, then our diurnal hormone system is in sync with our lifestyle.

3.Between midnight and 3 AM we get a burst of human growth hormone (HGH). If we celebrate through the night and go to bed at 3AM, we are asking for trouble: we miss the HGH hormone peak and we are having a hangover the following day. But if you get an adequate amount of sleep as described, you get the HGH peak and you enjoy extra energy the following day.

4.Our sex hormones get produced early in the morning before we wake up; courtesy of the diurnal hormone rhythm. This translates into a regular sex life, because these hormones work from within and facilitate that sex is happening.

5.You get a clear head from sleeping enough hours and at the right time. You need a clear head to listen to your partner, to maintain good relationships and form new ones. It seems that with a clear head everything falls into place; with a hangover, everything is a chore and you don’t want to socialize.

Reference: Ray Schilling

How thoughts are physically allocated in the brain?

Thoughts aren’t stored in the brain, or anywhere for that matter.

The brain’s contents consist of functions, like facial recognition and visual processing, and memories.

Thoughts are constructed. We construct thoughts in the moment they are needed and relevant. Any consistency we see in our thoughts results from the choices we make in constructing those thoughts. You can learn more about this view by reading The Mind Is Flat: The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain or seeing one of Nick Chater’s videos.

Emotions are a specific form of thoughts. They aren’t stored anywhere; we have memories of our previous emotional responses, and we construct emotions in the moment that we believe are consistent with our previous emotions. You can learn more about this view by reading How Emotions Are Made or watching her 2018 TED talk you aren't at the mercy of your emotions -- your brain creates them.

Don’t believe everything you think.

Reference: John Light

How does the treatment for dementia with Lewy bodies differ from the treatment for Alzheimer's disease?

Lewy Body Dementia has a different underlying cause than Alzheimer’s. It is in the Parkinson’s family of disorders. Often as it progresses patients may be given Dopamine replacement type medications such as Sinamet to help treat movement problems.

Even though it is an off-label use, Alzheimer’s medications such as Namenda or Aricept are often prescribed and can provide some benefit with memory and behaviour symptoms. They tend to be very safe with few side effects so doctors will often try them to help with symptom management.

The main treatment difference is not so much in what medicines you use as what medications need to be avoided.

One of the primary symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia is visual hallucinations. Unfortunately the types of anti-psychotic medications that are frequently used to treat Hallucinations in other conditions (Haldol, Zyprexa etc.) can be very dangerous for these patients. These medications cause worsening of physical symptoms and in severe situations can cause death.

There are only a handful of safe behaviour medications that can be used with Lewy Body dementia and you should work with a specialist neurologist or geriatric psychiatrist to make sure prescribing is done correctly.

Due to the Movement symptoms with Lewy Body dementia family needs to be diligent in helping the patient exercise regularly. Exercise and Physical therapy help reduce falls which is a major concern with Lewy Body dementia.

Each Dementia illness is different and these differences make getting a good diagnosis very important.

Reference: Elizabeth Garcia-Leavitt

What is the best known treatment (home/medical) to control progression of early Parkinson's disease?

Stem cells help to control progression of early Parkinson's disease

The results of stem cell therapy with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) both on animal models and in clinical trials confirm that such approaches may slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease and reduce symptoms, as well as lower adverse effects of existing medications.

Studies of efficacy and the safety of autologous or donor MMSCs when implanted into the specific regions of the brain have been conducted since 2009. About half of the patients showed a positive response within the observation period

• Reduced rigidity.
• Improved speech.
• Minimal tremors.
• Ability to do routine activities without much difficulty.
• Ability to walk for longer distances.
• Improved swallowing.
• Reduced involuntary movements.
• Increased independence during daily activities.
• Overall improvement assessed by the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale

It was also noted that patients at an early stage of Parkinson’s disease treated with stem cells often did not experience disease progression and had more pronounced clinical improvement when compared to patients treated at the later stages of the disease

Reference: Swiss Medica

What's the difference between neurological disorders in the brain and mental illnesses?

Psychiatry is differentiated from neurology by a totally arbitrary line, and there is a large degree of overlap. Generally this line is drawn at the point where a physical manifestation of the disease is not obvious(psychiatry), versus where there is a somatic component. Neurology deals with more organic brain diseases, with more obvious brain pathologies, and generally larger involvement of sensory and motor systems. Psychiatry on the other hand deals more with constructs related to emotion, executive function, and beliefs that have less distinguishable and obvious pathologies.

However, it has not always been this way, and historically neurology and psychiatry have been a unified field. However in the 20th century, as schism occured. One interesting consequence of this is the use of different terms to describe the same phenomenon, such as aboulia vs avolition

Despite this, it is becoming more and more clear that neurology and psychiatry are interrelated. For example, mania, depression, and other “psychiatric” phenomenon are very common in strokes, largely treated by neurologist. Manifestation of “psychiatric” symptoms are not uncommon in neurological disorders, with depression, and anxiety being extremely common, although not always necessarily pathological, or abnormal. As psychiatry becomes more evidenced based and a focus on biomarkers of disease develop, neurology and psychiatry are being integrated.

Reference: Alexander Saytsev

Is Neurobiology a different major than neuroscience?

Not as far as degrees go, they would be the same. There would be some differences based on neurobiology as a concentration, but that depends on where you are academically:

Undergraduate: If you are at a school that offers a neuroscience degree, you may have the option to focus on the biological “wet” side of the brain. This will involve classes that depend a great deal on cellular biology and genetics, and so you will take many non-neuroscience classes along the way. It will probably look a lot like a general biology degree, but with some changes in your upper division coursework. Compare that to a more general neuroscience degree where you may get a taste of cellular neuroscience, as well as cognitive neuroscience, computational neuroscience, etc, along with more mathy classes like physics or actual math. This can matter a lot if you intend to go to graduate school, as the background you have will carry you into or out of a neuro program.

Graduate: Similar to undergrad, there is only “Neuroscience” as a degree, not its various subfields. However, in a neuroscience program at a school that focuses a lot on neurobiology you will be working on nothing but. Research in your lab and classes will all be about biology, essentially. Other schools may have a more diverse neuroscience focus, and so you could again take your pick when it comes to classes, and whatever lab you’re in would determine if that’s the research you do.

In both cases, the degree will say “Neuroscience” on it, nothing more specific. I should also warn you that graduate neuroscience programs don’t like neuroscience undergraduate majors very much for a number of reasons. If you are interested in becoming a neurobiologist via grad school, a chemistry or biology degree would probably help you get there more than a neuro degree.

 Reference: Kits Arriet

What is severe Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer’s disease is basically categorized into three stages:

·         Mild

·         Moderate

·         Severe

Mild Alzheimer’s: It is also called as the early stage of Alzheimer’s as the patient can perform all sorts of day to day activities whether in the office or at his/her home except in some moments where he/she can feel that concentration towards the work is compromised as compared to other days. Sometimes the patient forgets very familiar names or forgets to respond to a regular habit or work time. Some of the common difficulties faced by the patient includes-

1.      problems in remembering already familiar names

2.      problems in catching assigned tasks quickly

3.      forgetting anything which is just read

4.      misplacing objects anywhere else

5.      profound speech and organizing meetings

Moderate Alzheimer’s

This is the stage where a patient needs a greater level of care compared to the early stage as this stage lasts for a very long period of time. It can be noticed that the person at this stage shows a greater level of discomfortness by getting sometimes angry, frustrated or behaving in an unexpected way. Mostly it happens due to a greater impact on the nerve cells of the brain and patient finds it very difficult to express his/her thoughts and feelings. The patient’s sleeping habits changes drastically and there is an increased risk of getting lost while wandering in fact, in some cases, the person forgets the day, month and year of the calendar along with patterns. A sharp increase in personality and behavioural changes can also be seen at this stage like a suspicious, compulsive and delusive act.

Severe Alzheimer’s

In the last phase of this ailment, people lose the capacity to react to their condition, to bear on a discussion and, in the end, to control development. They may, in any case, say words or expressions, however imparting torment ends up plainly troublesome. As memory and subjective aptitudes keep on worsening, noteworthy identity changes may occur and people require broad help with everyday exercises. At this stage, every individual needs full care and attention round the clock.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

1.      Poor decision-making ability.

2.      Inability to plan complex or sequential activities in day to day life.

3.      Poor understanding of safety risks at all.

4.      Getting lost on a familiar route or road.

5.      Misplacing personal belongings.

6.      Forgetting events or appointments.

7.      Repetitive questions or conversations.

8.      Inability to operate simple implements or orient clothing to the body.

9.      Loss of empathy.

10.  Out-of-character mood changes, including agitation, less interest, motivation or initiative, apathy, social withdrawal.

11.  Speech, spelling, and writing errors.

12.  Inability to manage finances.

13.  Compulsive, obsessive or socially unacceptable behaviour.

14.  Inability to recognize faces or common objects or to find objects in direct view.

Reference: Nayan Das

What are the initial signs of Alzheimer's Disease that you noticed in people close to you or in yourself?

Alzheimer’s disease is progressive brain disorder that slowly affects memory and thinking abilities and, with time, the ability to carry out the simplest daily activities. In most of the people the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease starts appearing by mid-60. The commonest feature of Alzheimer’s disease is dementia or forgetfulness. Following are the early signs and symptoms you may find in the person affected by an Alzheimer’s disease.

·Forgetfulness or memory loss that affects daily life

·Misplacing things and being unable to recall or find them

·Difficulty having a conversation

·Confusion with time, place or season (forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same information over and over, and rely more on memory aids e.g., reminder notes, diary or electronic devices)

·Difficulty in planning and problems solving

·Poor judgment and decision-making

·Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home or at work (People with Alzheimer’s disease often find it hard to complete daily tasks managing work, money and bills)

·Changes in mood and personality

We can sometimes find out the symptoms on the basis of severity such as mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer:

1.Mild Alzheimer

Wandering and getting lost, repeating questions, trouble handling money and paying bills, slowness in daily activities, and personality, mood and behaviour changes.

2.Moderate Alzheimer

Memory loss and confusion get worse, and people begin to have problems recognizing family and friends. Inability to learn new things, carry out multistep tasks such as getting dressed. In addition, people at this stage may have hallucinations and delusions.

3.Severe Alzheimer

People with severe Alzheimer’s cannot communicate and are completely dependent on others for their care. Thus, the person may be in bed most of the time.

Reference: Aktivhealth AH

In which side of the brain are the old habits stored compared to the new acquired ones

You first have to understand that sides of the brain are less important than lobes. These include the Occipital, Temporal, Parietal, and Frontal lobe a.k.a Neo-cortex. Visual would have strong emphasis with neurons located in the occipital but given that it’s processed largely by the neocortex and stored in the hippocampus as visual memory, memory is not so simple to quantify in unilateral terms even when looking at it from a lobe perspective.

You have to understand that there are neurons that specialize for certain functions like motor neurons which control muscle memory, this allows for feats seen in the Olympics; these habits are hard to forget given how they are intertwined and the brain has a system.

Our brain has so many neurons that i highly doubt that old habits are even forgotten to make way for new ones. An adult no longer goes through pruning and concentrations are set. A slight change in brain structure may allow for new key habits to override access to old habits but Old Habits Never Die.

Reference: Eddie Curiel

How does Alzheimer's disease develop?

There are multiple biochemical processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

1.Increased levels of beta-amyloid

2.Increased beta-secretase activity (beta-secretase is an enzyme that cuts the amyloid precursor protein (APP) in such a way as to make beta-amyloid)

3.Decreased alpha-secretase activity (alpha-secretase is an enzyme that cuts APP in such a way that it can no longer make beta-amyloid)

4.Decreased neprilysin activity (neprilysin is an enzyme that breaks down beta-amyloid, whether in monomer form or oligomer form (such as plaque)

5.Increased 42/40 ratio of beta-amyloid (42 beta-amyloid is a main component of plaque)

6.Increased hyper phosphorylation tau protein (this protein makes up the tangles that kills neurons)

7.Decreased blood flow to the brain

8.Decreased brain cell glucose metabolism

Interestingly enough, testosterone reverses all of the above biochemical processes. A 19 year study in men showed that there was a strong correlation between low free testosterone and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, with the researchers being able to predict who was going to develop Alzheimer’s up to 10 years in advance of any symptoms appearing. See: Free testosterone and risk for Alzheimer disease in older men.

In my opinion, the main cause of Alzheimer’s in both men and women is the decrease in their hormone levels as they age. Of course, genetics and diet can also play a role.

Reference: Edward Friedman

What is the difference between a Parkinson's disease tremor and other diseases’ tremor, and is there any device that measures and recognizes a Parkinson's disease tremor

A type of tremor not mentioned by others results from damage to the cerebellum.

The tremor of Parkinson’s is called “resting” because it may not be as noticeable on “intention” that is, when one performs a voluntary motor behaviour,

A cerebellar tremor, on the other hand, is absent at rest. However, it is noticed on intention, when one tries to perform a motor act, such as putting a straw into the mouth. The closer one gets to the mouth, the greater the tremor.

This is because the cerebellum normally acts as a “steering wheel”. It does not initiate the movement, but once it is in progress, the cerebellum acts to fine tune it.

Using the analogy of a car, the gas pedal (motor system) initiates the behaviour. The cerebellum is the steering wheel that guides it. The brakes are the basal ganglia, which enable complete stopping. In Parkinson’s, (disease of the basal ganglia) the brakes don’t fully engage, so the person is left with ongoing motion (resting tremor).

It is fairly normal for people to tremble in response to excess sympathetic nervous system activation (to “shake like a leaf” due to fear)

Reference: Joyce Schenkein

Why is high blood pressure always a health concern?

Almоѕt 67 million Americans hаvе high blood pressure, and mоrе than half of them do not hаvе it under control.

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, two of the leading саuѕеѕ of death in the United States. It аlѕо саn lead tо kidney failure and erectile dysfunction. You may suffer from headaches, sleep deprivation, loss of vision, inability tо think сlеаrlу if you hаvе high blood pressure. You are аlѕо mоrе likely tо hаvе оthеr components of metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a cluster of disorders of уоur body's metabolism - including increased waist circumference, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high insulin levels. The mоrе components уоu have, the greater уоur risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or stroke. Hence, it is important to keep your blood pressure under control.

It is dangerous bесаuѕе it makes the heart work tоо hard. It аlѕо makes the walls of the arteries hard. It is one of ѕеvеrаl factors аѕѕосiаtеd with cardiovascular disease, which is the number one killer of Americans in both men and women. Cardiovascular disease claims mоrе lives annually than all cancers combined, killing approximately one million people in the U.S.

High blood pressure is for mоrе common in families where оthеr members hаvе this condition. This dоеѕ not mеаn that уоu must hаvе a history of it in уоur family tо hаvе it yourself. You must understand that it is a very ѕеriоuѕ disease. It саn саuѕе damage tо уоur vital organs and in the worst cases саn be fatal.

Blood pressure is categorized into four stages. As уоur blood pressure gоеѕ up, the risk of heart attack, stroke, or kidney disease increases. A high pressure is generally considered tо be a reading greater than or equal tо 140 mm Hg (systolic) or greater than or equal tо 90 mm Hg (diastolic). Blood pressure readings in the pre-hypertension category (120-139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic) indiсаtе an increased risk for developing hypertension.

Remember, it is a ѕеriоuѕ condition that уоu ѕhоuld not ignore. Hоwеvеr blood pressure саn be lowered еithеr by changing уоur lifestyle, by natural means, or if nесеѕѕаrу by adding medications. High blood pressure or hypertension is аlѕо the mоѕt important risk factor for stroke-the third leading саuѕе of death in the United States and the leading саuѕе of disability-and a major risk factor fоr heart attacks, heart failure, аnd kidney disease. It iѕ аlѕо the number оnе risk factor fоr congestive heart failure.

Reference: Natalia Wilson