1. 1304925152400<br />By Phillip Ahn<br />In your body, there are many vital systems of organs that keep your body up and running every day. One of these systems is the nervous system. The main organs nervous system includes the brain, the spinal cord, and all of the nerves. The nervous system is your body’s most complicated system and one of your most important systems. Like every other system in the body, the nervous system is vulnerable to many types of diseases. The types of nervous system disorders can be divided into many groups.<br />The first group of brain diseases are the organic brain disorders. Organic brain disorders can be sorted into three groups: Delirium, Dementia, and Specific neuropsychiatric syndromes. Delirium and dementia affect all aspects of cognition, whereas specific neuro-psychiatric disorders affect selective components of cognitive function.<br />Delirium is a common but severe neuropsychiatric disorder. It changes in arousal, perceptual deficits, altered sleep cycle, and psychotic features such as hallucinations and delusions. Delirium is usually caused by a disease process out the brain, such as pneumonia or drug effects. Delirium’s symptoms are present in dementia, depression, and psychosis. Therefore it is usually confused for another disorder. Delirium is one of the most common disorders. It affects 10-20% of all hospitalized adults, and 30-40% of all elderly hospitalized patients and up to 80% of ICU (Intensive-care unit) patients.<br />Delirium can be distinguished from psychosis. Delirium does not impair consciousness or cognition. However, psychosis is capable of producing delirium-like states. Delirium is also different from confusion (but both can be present at the same time). Delirium includes reduction in the ability to form short-term or long-term memory. <br />Dementia is a group of related symptoms that is associated with an ongoing decline of the brain. It affects thinking, memory, understanding, and judgment. There are several types of Dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Dementia with lewy bodies. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia; in Alzheimer’s disease small clumps of protein, known as plaques, start to develop around the brain cells. This stops the normal workings of the brain causing you to lose your memory and other abilities that are serious enough to interfere with daily life. Vascular dementia deals with the blood circulation. It occurs when parts of the brain do not receive enough blood and oxygen because of circulation problems. Just like Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia results in a progressive memory loss.<br />Dementia with Lewy bodies is where structures, known as lewy bodies, develop inside the brain. There are several names for Dementia with Lewy bodies: Lewy Body Disease, Lewy Body dementia, or diffuse Lewy Body Disease. It is hard to recognize Dementia with Lewy Bodies because it is very similar to Alzheimer’s. But, people with Dementia with Lewy bodies often have hallucinations, and extreme sensitivities to antipsychotic medications. It reduces alertness and the attention span of the victim. Also the person will have many hallucinations at night. Frontotemporal dementia is also confused with Alzheimer's disease. Frontotemporal dementia is a term for a diverse group of uncommon disorders. These disorders usually are associated with personality, behavior, and language. People with frontotemporal dementia undergo dramatic changes in personality. They become either, socially inappropriate, impulsive, or lose the ability to use and understand language.<br />Another type of disorder that can occur in the nervous system is Brain cancer. Brain cancer occurs when a tumor forms in your brain. There are two types of brain tumors: primary brain tumors, and metastatic brain tumors. Primary brain tumors can be cancerous or noncancerous. Primary brain tumors originate in the brain, while metastatic brain tumors originate from cancer cells that have came from other parts of the body. <br />Primary brain tumors destroy brain cells and damage other cells by placing pressure on other parts of the brain, and increasing pressure within the skull. There is no proven cause of primary brain tumors, but it is assumed that there are many possible factors including: radiation therapy to the brain, exposure to radiation, and some inherited conditions. Some symptoms for brain cancer are headaches, seizures, weakness in one part of the body, or changes in the person’s mental functions. Other symptoms of a primary brain tumor are: changes in alertness and the five senses, clumsiness, memory loss, difficulty swallowing or writing and reading. <br />Metastatic brain tumors form when another tumor spreads to the brain. The most common metastatic brain tumors come from the lungs, breast, melanoma, and kidney. Metastatic brain tumors are more common than primary brain tumors, and have similar symptoms. These include: clumsiness, seizures, memory loss, and headaches. Other symptoms of a metastatic brain tumor are lethargy, vomiting, and the eye pupils to change in size. <br />There is no known cure for any organic brain disorder, although there are many ways to treat it. Many different type of clinics are made to help people with an organic brain disorder. Meanwhile it is possible to remove a brain tumor. The brain tumor is removed by surgery, but the surgery is extremely dangerous and some tumors are impossible to remove. <br />Works Cited<br /> quot;
Brain Cancer - Overview - Oncologychannel.quot;
Oncologychannel, Your Oncology Community - Cancer, Tumors, Patient Ed, Physician-Developed - Oncologychannel. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://oncologychannel.com/braincancer/index.shtml>.<br /> quot;
Brain Tumor - Primary - Adults: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.quot;
National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007222.htm>.<br /> quot;
Delirium.quot;
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium>.<br /> quot;
Dementia - Introduction.quot;
NHS Choices Homepage - Your Health, Your Choices. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/Pages/Introduction.aspx>.<br /> quot;
Frontotemporal Dementia - MayoClinic.com.quot;
Mayo Clinic Medical Information and Tools for Healthy Living - MayoClinic.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/frontotemporal-dementia/DS00874>.<br /> quot;
Lewy Body Disease: Signs, Symptoms, Treatment, and Support.quot;
Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://helpguide.org/elder/lewy_body_disease.htm>.<br /> quot;
What Is Alzheimer's.quot;
Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <http://www.alza.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp>.<br />
