Acupuncture One
Neurological Disorders and Treatments
Commonly Seen Neurological Disorders
Stroke (CVA)
A stroke is also known as a CVA (cerebrovascular accident), or a brain attack. It is a condition where problems with blood flow causes cell death in the brain. There are two kinds of stroke, either ischemic, due to lack of blood flow; or hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Either one can cause the brain to stop functioning properly. About 90% of strokes are ischemic, and 10% are hemorrhagic.
Commonly seen symptoms of a stroke include weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, inability to speak or understand others, dizziness or vision loss on one side. Symptoms usually develop soon after stroke occurs. If symptoms disappear within 24 hours, it is called a transient ischemic stroke or mini stroke. Hemorrhagic stroke patients can have sudden and severe headache.
A stroke is a medical emergency. It can cause lasting brain damage, long term disability or even death. Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in Canada and the third leading cause of death. For these reasons, proper stroke treatment is of great importance to the quality of life of patients. About 878,000 Canadians are living with stroke.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
MS is a disease that can lead to the loss of function of the brain and spinal cord. The immune system of MS patients attacks the insulating covers of nerve cells, causing problems for the brain to communicate with other parts of the body. Eventually this disease may lead to permanent damage or degeneration of the nerve fibers. Symptoms of MS patients differ depending upon location and severity of the damage within the Central Nervous System, and can include physical, mental and even psychiatric problems.
Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with 1 in every 400 people living with MS, which is a total of 90,000.
Parkinson's Disease (PD)
PD is a chronic degenerative disease affecting the Central Nervous System. It mainly affects the motor nervous system. The symptoms start slowly with time. Early symptoms are tremor, rigidity, decreased mobility, and abnormal gait, some also has behavioral and cognition problems. Dementia is prevalent among PD patients. Over 1/3 patients also suffer from depression and anxiety. Other symptoms include sensory, sleep and emotional problems. Parkinson's disease affects 1 in every 500 people in Canada. Over 100,000 Canadians are living with Parkinson's today.