Migraine Headaches

If you've ever had a migraine headache, you know that it feels as if your head could explode. In fact, when you have one you frequently wish you could detach your head from your body. Your head and eyes hurt, your neck hurts, you feel nauseated, light and sounds vibrate and pound, and nothing makes these feelings go away. You seek darkness and total quiet. You want to cry but that only intensifies the pain.

Dr. Golnick describes migraines as a brain disorder that is related to neurogenic inflammation with the trigeminal vascular system. They may be associated with alternations of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin. Most of the newer medications used for treating migraines actually modulate the serotonin receptors. "Sinus headaches" may mimic migraines, however, these are not he same thing. Sinus headaches rarely reoccur; frequent recurring headaches most likely are tension headaches or migraine headaches.

It is important to discuss all of your symptoms, related events, potential headache triggers and especially your family history with a physician to best determine what needs to be done. The physician's ability to listen carefully is the key to treating severe headaches. Dialogue is essential and new patients and we believe that the physician's ability to listen carefully is the key to treating severe headaches. Dialogue is essential and new patients to ours practice are told to expect the first visit to last between two to three hours.

Head Trauma

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden physical assault on the head causes damage to the brain. The damage can be focal, confined to one area of the brain, or diffuse, involving more than one area of the brain. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury. A closed head injury occurs when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, but the object does not break through the skull. A penetrating head injury occurs when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue. Several types of traumatic injuries can affect the head and brain. A skull fracture occurs when the bone of the skull cracks or breaks. A depressed skull fracture occurs when pieces of the broken skull press into the tissue of the brain. This can cause bruising of the brain tissue, called a contusion. A contusion can also occur in response to shaking of the brain within the confines of the skull, an injury called "countrecoup." Shaken baby syndrome is a severe form of head injury that occurs when a baby is shaken forcibly enough to cause extreme countrecoup injury. Damage to a major blood vessel within the head can cause a hematoma, or heavy bleeding into or around the brain. The severity of a TBI can range from a mild concussion to the extremes of coma or even death. A coma is a profound or deep state of unconsciousness. Symptoms of a TBI may include headache, nausea, confusion or other cognitive problems, a change in personality, depression, irritability, and other emotional and behavioral problems. Some people may have seizures as a result of a TBI.

Neck Injury

Accidents are major causes of neck injury. Sudden jerking of the head back and forth causes whiplash injuries. Whiplash is a neck sprain in which the ligaments that connect the spine are stretched or torn. Pain and stiffness may take a few hours or days to develop after an injury. Sometimes the neck area hurts even though there has been no visible injury. Medical care is needed if pain is constant, severe, or occurs with headache, numbness, tingling, or weakness.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease diagnosed primarily in adults between the ages of 20 and 50. It is caused by the inflammation and scarring (sclerosis) of the myelin sheath (a fatty covering that surrounds and protects nerve fibers) and the underlying nerve. Myelin insures the swift transmission of nerve impulses from brain to muscle. When myelin is damaged, communication breaks down between the brain and muscle. Body movements may become slow or uncoordinated because signals from the brain to the muscles deteriorate, or arms and legs may feel numb because sensations from the extremities no longer reach the brain.

Facial Pain

Atypical Facial Pain (ATFP) is a syndrome encompassing a wide group of facial pain problems. ATFP can have many different causes but the symptoms are all similar. Facial pain, often described as burning, aching or cramping, occurs on one side of the face, often in the region of the trigeminal nerve and can extend into the upper neck or back of the scalp. Although rarely as severe as trigeminal neuralgia, facial pain is continuous for ATFP patients, with few, if any periods of remission. Recent studies propose that ATFP is an early form of trigeminal neuralgia. Indeed, some patients have components of both ATFP and TN symptoms.

Cluster Headache

Cluster headache, also known as histamine headache, is a specific vascular headache syndrome. Attacks usually are severe and unilateral and typically are located at the temple and periorbital region. Each headache is brief in duration, typically lasting a few moments to 2 hours. Cluster refers to a grouping of headaches, usually over a period of several weeks.

The 2 existing forms of cluster headache are (1) episodic clusters with attack phases lasting 4-16 weeks followed by a cluster-free interval of 6 months to years, and (2) chronic form, in which the cluster-free interval is less than 1 week in a 12-month period

Reference (http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic229.htm)

Epilepsy/Seizure Disorder

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions, and behavior or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. Epilepsy is a disorder with many possible causes. Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of neuron activity - from illness to brain damage to abnormal brain development - can lead to seizures. Epilepsy may develop because of an abnormality in brain wiring, an imbalance of nerve signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters, or some combination of these factors. Having a seizure does not necessarily mean that a person has epilepsy. Only when a person has had two or more seizures is he or she considered to have epilepsy. EEGs and brain scans are common diagnostic test for epilepsy

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by damaged or dead dopamine-neurons in the substantia nigra, a region of the brain that controls balance and coordinates muscle movement. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (a kind of chemical messenger) that carries information from neuron to neuron and eventually out to the muscles. When these dopamine neurons start to die, the lines of communication between the brain and the body become progressively weaker. Eventually, the brain is no longer able to direct or control muscle movement in a normal manner.

The four primary symptoms of Parkinson's disease often appear gradually but increase in severity with time. They are:

• Tremor or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face
• Rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk
• Slowness of motor movements
• Postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

People with Parkinson's disease may have trouble walking, talking, or completing simple tasks that depend on coordinated muscle movements

Stroke/CVA

A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain stops. There are two different kinds of stroke. The most common is an ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel or artery in the brain. The other, less common, is a hemorrhagic stroke, caused when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and spills blood into the surrounding tissue. Brain cells in the area begin to die, either because they stop getting the oxygen and nutrients they need to function, or they are killed by the rupture of the vessel and sudden spill of blood.

The symptoms of stroke happen immediately:

• Numbness or weakness in the face, arms, or legs (especially on one side of the body)
• Confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Vision disturbances in one or both eyes
• Dizziness, trouble walking, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

If you or someone else has these symptoms, seek immediate medical assistance. The longer blood flow is cut off to the brain, the greater the potential for permanent damage

For additional information on these neurological disorders and others please visit: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/disorder_index.htm