Different types of brain tumor doctors often work together to develop a patient’s overall treatment plan that incorporates different forms of treatment.
This is called a multidisciplinary approach.
A variety of health care professionals may be involved in your care, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, oncology nurses, social workers, pharmacists, counselors, dietitians, rehabilitation specialists, and others.
It is important to have a team of medical professionals specializing in caring for people with brain tumors, which may mean contacting medical professionals beyond your local area to assist with diagnosis and treatment planning.
Brain tumors can grow rapidly or slowly, depending on their type.
Your doctor will talk with you about how soon you should begin treatment after diagnosis, taking all these factors into account.
Low-grade brain tumors may only require surgery, especially if all of the tumor can be removed.
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be used if there is still a visible tumor after surgery.
Higher-grade tumors are usually treated with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Together with your health care team, you will develop your specific treatment plan.
Brain tumors can be difficult to treat successfully.
Normal blood-brain barriers protect the brain and spinal cord from harmful chemicals.
This barrier, however, also prevents many forms of chemotherapy from passing through.
Surgical removal of a tumor near a delicate part of the brain or spinal cord can be difficult.
A surgeon may be able to remove the entire tumor, but parts of it may remain that are too small to be seen or removed during surgery.
Radiotherapy can also cause tissue damage.
However, research in the past 20 years has helped to significantly prolong the lives of many people with brain tumors as well as improve their quality of life.
Advances in cancer treatment include more precise surgeries, a better understanding of which types of tumors respond to chemotherapy and other drugs, and more targeted radiation therapy.
Physical symptoms and side effects of a brain tumor, as well as emotional, social, and financial effects, are associated with its treatment.
A palliative care provider or a supportive care provider manages these effects.
In addition to treatments to slow, stop, or eliminate the tumor, this important part of your care is included.
During treatment, palliative care aims to improve how you feel by managing symptoms and supporting you and your family.
It is possible for anyone, regardless of age or tumor type and stage, to receive this type of care.
Often, it works best when started shortly after a brain tumor diagnosis.
Patients who receive palliative care alongside treatment for their tumor often experience fewer symptoms, a better quality of life, and report that they are more satisfied with their treatment.
In palliative care, medications, nutritional changes, relaxation techniques, emotional and spiritual support, and other therapies are frequently used.
Alternatively, you may receive palliative treatments similar to those intended to get rid of the tumor, such as chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation therapy.
The symptoms of a brain tumor can be severe and have an enormous impact on patients and their caregivers on a daily basis.
Some symptoms can, however, be managed with certain medications.
Supportive care for people with brain tumors includes:
They reduce swelling in the brain, which can lessen headache pain caused by swelling without requiring prescription pain medications.
By reducing pressure from the tumor as well as swelling in healthy brain tissue, these drugs might also help improve neurological symptoms.
Several types of drugs are available to control seizures. Your doctor will prescribe these medications for you.
You should discuss with your doctor the goals of each treatment recommended in the treatment plan before beginning treatment.
Additionally, you should discuss the possible side effects of the specific treatment plan and palliative care options.
Participating in support groups and speaking with a social worker are also helpful to many patients.
Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor about them.
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, violent jolt, or blow to the head that disrupts normal brain activity.
Concussions can also occur as a result of a body hit that causes your head to forcefully jerk backwards, forwards, or to the side.
In addition to stretching and bruising your nerves and blood vessels, concussions cause chemical changes in your brain that temporarily reduce your ability to think.
A single concussion usually does not cause permanent brain damage.
The brain may undergo structural changes over the course of a lifetime if you suffer multiple concussions.
Concussions are rarely life-threatening.
Concussions can, however, cause serious side effects that can last for days, weeks, or even longer.
As part of a neurological examination, your doctor may conduct several tests to evaluate your thinking skills.
For some people with signs and symptoms such as severe headaches, seizures, repeated vomiting or symptoms that are getting worse, brain imaging may be recommended.
Imaging the brain can help determine whether the injury is severe and if there is bleeding or swelling in the skull.
An adult’s brain is normally assessed via a cranial computerized tomography (CT) scan right after injury.
CT scans use X-rays to create cross-sectional images of your skull and brain.
CT scans are only used for children with concussions when specific criteria are met, such as the type of injury or signs of skull fractures.
Young children should not be exposed to radiation during such scans.
The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify changes in the brain after a concussion or to diagnose complications.
Following a concussion, it’s best to rest your brain for a few days to allow it to recover.
If you have suffered a concussion, your doctor will recommend that you rest physically and mentally.
For the first two days after a concussion, it is recommended that you limit activities that require mental concentration and thinking.
It is not recommended that a person lie in a dark room and avoid all stimuli to recover completely.
During the first 48 hours, you should limit activities that require high mental concentration, such as playing video games, watching TV, doing schoolwork, reading, texting, or using a computer – if these activities worsen your symptoms.
Additionally, you should avoid physical activities that aggravate any of your symptoms, such as general physical exertion, sports, or vigorous movements, until your symptoms cease to be aggravated.
Until you are fully recovered from the injury, you should avoid any activities that have a high risk of exposure to another head impact.
As you recover from a concussion, your doctor may recommend shortened school days or workdays, taking breaks during the day, or modifying or reducing school workloads or work assignments.
In addition to different therapies, your doctor may recommend eye rehabilitation, balance rehabilitation, or cognitive rehabilitation if you are experiencing difficulties thinking and remembering.
Gradually, as your symptoms improve, you may do more activities requiring thinking, such as doing more schoolwork or work assignments, or spending more time at school or work.
When it’s safe for you to resume light exercise, your doctor will tell you.
You’re usually allowed to do light physical activity after the first few days after injury as long as it doesn’t significantly worsen your symptoms – such as riding a stationary bike or light jogging – until your symptoms are completely gone.
Your doctor can discuss with you the necessary steps to play sports again once all signs and symptoms of concussion have resolved.
Returning to sports too soon increases the risk of another brain injury.
It is possible to experience headaches in the days or weeks following a concussion.
Your doctor may suggest acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) as a pain reliever if needed to manage pain.
Other pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and aspirin may increase bleeding risks.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s care are often treated as the same thing.
However, this is not necessarily the case.
In addition to Alzheimer’s disease, there are several other types of dementia.
Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
There are many similarities between these conditions and Alzheimer’s disease, but they also come with unique challenges.
Dementia comes in many forms. As a result, the symptoms vary and the disease progresses differently.
Families and caregivers face many challenges when caring for loved ones with dementia.
Dementia patients have a progressive biological brain disorder that makes it harder for them to remember things, think clearly, communicate with others, and take care of themselves as they get older.
A person’s behavior and personality can also be affected by dementia.
We don’t know how to communicate with someone with dementia from birth, but we can learn.
Making caregiving less stressful and improving your relationship with your loved one is likely to result from improving your communication skills.
When caring for a person with a dementing illness, you will also need good communication skills in order to deal with difficult behavior.
The changes in personality and behavior that often accompany dementia are among the greatest challenges of caregiving.
Using creativity, flexibility, patience, and compassion will help you to overcome these challenges.
Maintaining your sense of humor will also help.
It is impossible to change a person. A brain disorder has shaped who the person you are caring for has become. If you try to control or change his behavior, you will most likely be unsuccessful or encounter resistance. You should:
An underlying medical reason may be behind behavioral problems: perhaps the person is in pain or experiencing an adverse side effect from medications.
There may be some medication or treatment that can help in managing some problems, like incontinence or hallucinations.
It is typical for people with dementia to be unable to express their needs or wants.
It might seem strange to us when they do something such as take all the clothes out of the closet on a daily basis.
It is very likely that the person is trying to satisfy a need to be busy and productive.
Whenever possible, try to accommodate the person’s behavior-and consider what needs they may be trying to meet.
We must understand that all behavior has an underlying cause-it occurs due to a trigger.
It may have been something someone said or did that triggered the behavior, or it could have been a change in the environment.
Disrupting patterns is the root of changing behavior. Change your approach, or change the consequences.
Today’s solution may not work tomorrow.
Because of the various factors influencing troubling behaviors, and the natural progression of disease, solutions that are effective today may need to be modified tomorrow-or may not work at all.
Being creative and flexible in your approach to dealing with a problem is the key to managing difficult behaviors.
The diagnosis of epilepsy is a syndrome. Epilepsy is a symptom of abnormal brain waves. The underlying cause needs to be determined.
An MRI of the brain to look for structural abnormalities, and an EEG to categorize what type or types of seizures the patient has based on the brainwaves.
Then, in some children, there can be genetic causes, neurometabolic causes, and auto-immune causes.
During a seizure, an action plan can help nurses and teachers help your child.
Among the information is information about what type of seizure your child is experiencing, how it appears, and if an anti-seizure medication should be used while the seizure is occurring to shorten the seizures or how to contact the family if prolonged seizures occur.
Most seizures last for a short period of time. Absence seizures can last five to six seconds, depending on the patient.
Occasionally, patients will have two- to three-minute generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
While short, brief seizures may seem like a lifetime to parents, they are not detrimental to growth and development.
In the case of prolonged seizures lasting more than five minutes or multiple seizures, or generalized tonic-clonic seizures that occur more than three times in one hour, your doctor may recommend a seizure action plan.
Seizures are classified into different types.
Absence seizures, which are subtle staring, are determined by your observations of how often your child experiences them.
Whenever possible and practical, it is helpful to speak with your physician about ongoing EEG monitoring with video in those patients where it is not possible or practical to monitor all the time.
A visual inspection may not be able to detect subtle seizures.
In cases of nocturnal seizures, where it is impossible to monitor patients consistently when everyone is asleep, video EEG monitoring can also be quite helpful in determining seizure frequency.
It is possible to detect generalized tonic-clonic seizures using wearable devices that detect convulsive movements in patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures that have generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
In about a third of epilepsy patients, seizures continue despite appropriate treatment. These patients may be candidates for surgery.
Patients with focal epilepsy can undergo epilepsy surgery, where a focus can be identified and safely removed.
Certain types of generalized epilepsy can also be treated with epilepsy surgery, which entails disconnection surgery.
Be prepared with your questions when you attend your clinic appointments.
Be prepared to present your observation of the different seizure types or types you have observed, know the duration of the seizures, and have a seizure calendar so that you and your doctor can examine the frequency of your seizures.
EEGs measure the electrical activity of your brain using electrodes attached to your scalp.
EEGs show changes in brain activity that can help diagnose brain conditions, including epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
A CT scan is used to diagnose and plan medical, surgical, and radiation treatments as well as to visualize nearly all parts of the body.
SPECT scans taken during and between seizures are shown in this example. Blood flow was increased in those areas during the seizure.
After a location has been identified, an MRI image of the brain is fitted with that location.
Your doctor will review your symptoms and medical history to diagnose your condition.
To diagnose epilepsy and determine the cause of seizures, your doctor may order several tests.
These tests may include:
Epilepsy is most often diagnosed with this test. A paste-like substance or cap is used to attach electrodes to your scalp. These electrodes monitor your brain activity.
The pattern of your brain waves can change even when you aren’t having a seizure if you have epilepsy.
When your doctor conducts an EEG while you are awake or asleep, he or she may monitor you on video to record any seizures you have.
Keeping a record of your seizures may help your doctor determine what kind of seizures you’re having or rule out other conditions.
The test may be performed in a doctor’s office or in a hospital.
An ambulatory EEG may also be ordered, which you wear at home while the EEG records seizure activity over a few days.
You may be instructed by your doctor to do something that will cause seizures, such as getting little sleep before taking the test.
It is used mainly when an MRI and EEG fails to pinpoint the location in your brain where seizures are originating.
The SPECT test uses a small amount of low-dose radioactive material injected into a vein to create a detailed, 3D map of the blood flow in your brain during seizures.
Seizures may occur in areas of higher than normal blood flow.
A SPECT test called subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI (SISCOM), which may provide even more-detailed results by overlaying the SPECT results with a brain MRI, can also be conducted.
You have the best chance of finding an effective treatment if you receive an accurate diagnosis of your seizures.
Epilepsy is usually treated with medication first. A doctor may suggest surgery or another type of treatment if medications don’t help.
Anti-seizure medications, also called anti-epileptic medications, can make most people with epilepsy seizure-free with just one dose.
Other people may find that taking a combination of medications can decrease the frequency and intensity of their seizures.
General neurologists treat issues that affect the brain, spinal cord, or nerves.
This includes conditions such as migraine headaches, neuropathy, and dementia.
To meet your individual needs and goals, our neurologists work closely with you.
You will be assessed as a person, as well as how your symptoms impact your life.
The neurological condition will be experienced differently by different people.
How someone’s disease progresses or does not progress can vary according to who they are, their life experiences, their family support, and their socioeconomics. Every individual is different.
Huntington’s disease is diagnosed primarily based on your answers to questions, a physical examination, a medical history review, and neurological and psychiatric tests.
In order to assess the structure and function of the brain, your doctor may order brain imaging tests.
MRIs or CT scans that show detailed images of the brain can be used as imaging technologies.
Huntington’s disease may cause changes to the brain in these areas. These changes may not be apparent at the beginning of the disease.
Other conditions that may be causing symptoms can also be ruled out with these tests.
A genetic test may be recommended by your doctor if symptoms strongly suggest Huntington’s disease.
The test confirms the diagnosis. In addition, genetic testing may be helpful if no one in the family has previously been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease.
The test will not help determine a treatment plan, however.
Genetic counselors will explain to you the advantages and disadvantages of learning test results before undergoing the test.
Genetic counselors can also answer questions about the inheritance patterns of Huntington’s disease.
If you do not have symptoms but have a family history of the disease, a genetic test can be given.
This is called a predictive test. The test cannot tell you when the disease will begin or which symptoms will appear first.
Having the test may be more stressful for some people than not knowing.
Other people may want to take the test before they have children.
The risks of a fatal illness may include problems with insurance or future employment.
Federal laws prohibit discrimination against people with genetic diseases based on genetic test results.
Huntington’s disease cannot be altered by treatment. Medication can ease some symptoms of movement disorders and psychiatric disorders, however.
A person can adapt to changes in his or her abilities for a period of time with multiple interventions.
As the disease progresses, medications will likely change, depending on overall treatment goals.
A drug that treats one symptom may cause side effects that make another symptom worse.
Regular reviews and updates will be conducted on treatment goals.
Haloperidol (Haldol) and fluphenazine are antipsychotic drugs that suppress movements. As a result, they may be helpful in treating chorea.
Nevertheless, these drugs may worsen involuntary contractions (dystonia), restlessness and drowsiness.
Risperdal (Risperdal), Zyprexa (Zyprexa), and Seroquel (Seroquel), which may have fewer side effects, should still be used cautiously if they worsen symptoms.
Huntington’s disease affects the muscles of the mouth and throat, which are essential for speech, eating, and swallowing.
A speech therapist can help you improve your ability to speak clearly or teach you how to use communication devices – such as a board with pictures of everyday items and activities.
Speech therapists can also help with difficulties eating and swallowing.
Combined with ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology treats eye problems related to the nervous system, such as problems with peripheral vision, pupil changes, eye movement, and the optic nerve.
Visual testing is crucial for evaluating and diagnosing these conditions because of their complexity.
Making an accurate diagnosis is essential for identifying any risk of permanent vision loss or life-threatening disorders, or ruling out more serious conditions.
After our ophthalmologists arrive at a diagnosis, we invite you back to discuss your personalized treatment plan.
With our in-depth understanding of these conditions and their natural progression, we can determine the best course of treatment for each patient.
Treatment options can range widely depending on your situation, from observation to medication or surgery, if necessary.
As a first step, a multidisciplinary team of experts will assess the impact of Parkinson’s disease on your life and health through a clinical evaluation.
Your care team will develop a customized treatment plan based on this data to address your symptoms, which may include:
We will work with your team to address mood problems, anxiety and sleep problems as well as sensory disturbances.
You may not be able to control your movement symptoms with medications alone.
The following therapies may be considered as part of your treatment plan:
It can be difficult to treat skull base and pituitary tumors.
New technologies and care will restore your quality of life with the help of top experts.
It is uncommon for skull base tumors – such as pituitary adenoma, sinus cancer, meningioma and acoustic neuroma – to develop.
The proximity of these tumors to your brain, eyes, and major blood vessels makes treatment more challenging.
We’ll provide you with the latest technologies and treatments that not only promote safety, but ensure the complete removal of these difficult tumors.
Our intraoperative CT and surgical navigation allow us to visualize the tumor in real time during the procedure.
A positive change has occurred in his life and trajectory as a result of this surgery.
Our goal is to give a comprehensive picture of what we plan to do, and what we hope to accomplish for the patient.
Being able to deliver on that promise is the best part of my job.
Back pain affects millions of people every day.
In addition to living with the pain itself, this sort of condition can negatively impact your quality of life, causing you to miss work and social activities you enjoy as well as preventing you from completing even simple tasks.
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability among workers, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
When you take care of your spine – your back and neck – now, you will be less likely to suffer from back pain later.
Practicing better body mechanics, or how you move and hold yourself, when doing daily tasks and activities, is one of the simplest things you can do to improve the health of your spine.
Chronic back pain is pain in your spine that lasts for at least three months. Often it brings temporary relief, followed by frustration.
If you don’t know the cause of chronic back pain, it can be especially challenging.
Exercise is the cornerstone of chronic back pain treatment.
Under the guidance of your physician and spine physical therapist, it is one of the first treatments you should try.
Exercises should be tailored to your specific symptoms and condition.
Keeping a regular exercise routine at home is also crucial to success.
Chronic back pain strains both physically and emotionally.
The psychological effects of chronic pain, such as frustration, irritability, depression, can be dealt with by consulting a rehabilitation psychologist.
To keep your mind from focusing on pain, this specialist might recommend meditation, yoga, tai chi, and other cognitive and relaxation strategies.
Diets high in trans fats, refined sugars, and processed foods are especially inflammatory.
Talk to your doctor about whether your diet could be contributing to your chronic back pain and how you can change it.
By reducing the pressure on your spine, maintaining a healthy weight could help lessen your back pain.
The majority of people think of neurosurgery as brain surgery. However, it is so much more!
This medical specialty deals with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with injuries to or diseases of the brain, spinal cord and spinal column, as well as peripheral nerves throughout the body.
Pediatric and adult patients both can receive neurosurgical care.
Surgical and/or non-surgical treatment may be provided by a neurosurgeon depending on the nature of the injury or disease.
A neurosurgeon is a physician who specializes in neurosurgery.
A neurosurgeon is not just a brain surgeon, but also a medically trained specialist who can treat patients with back and neck pain, as well as illnesses such as trigeminal neuralgia, head injuries, and Parkinson’s disease.
A neurosurgeon must complete seven years of residency training in a neurosurgical residency program accredited by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
During their residency training, neurosurgeons learn about all aspects of neurosurgery, including the cerebrovascular system, the spine and spinal cord, trauma, tumors, pain management and pediatric surgery.
Residents in neurological sciences complete a minimum of 60 months of training, with at least 36 months dedicated to clinical neurosurgery and a minimum of 3 months dedicated to clinical neurology.
After completing their residency, some neurosurgeons pursue a fellowship in a particular specialized area of study.
Neurosurgeons become board certified after completing residency training, and continue with relevant training.
Neurosurgeons are specialists who provide operative and non-operative treatments for neurological disorders (e.g., prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care, and rehabilitation).
Because neurosurgeons have extensive training in the diagnosis of all neurological diseases, emergency room doctors, neurologists, internists, family practitioners, and osteopathic physicians often consult them.
Neurosurgeons specialize in surgical treatment of diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, such as congenital anomalies, trauma, tumors, vascular disorders, brain or spine infections, strokes, or degenerative diseases of the spine.
Spinal surgery for decompression and/or fusion is the most common neurosurgery procedure.
The most common surgeries in the brain are for brain tumors and blood clots.
People with Alzheimer’s disease experience memory loss and other cognitive difficulties as the disease progresses.
The most common symptoms include wandering and getting lost, difficulty handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete daily tasks, and change in personality and behavior.
Most scientists believe Alzheimer’s disease results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain over time.
Alzheimer’s is caused by specific genetic changes less than 1% of the time, which virtually assures a person will develop it.
Alzheimer’s disease is divided into five stages: preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s disease, mild dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease, moderate dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease, and severe dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
Genetics. Genetic factors have been linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, although the details of how these factors make some people more vulnerable to the disease remain unclear.
Parkinson’s disease can run in families due to faulty genes passed down from parents to children.
Parkinson’s disease affects the brain and causes shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination.
Parkinson’s symptoms usually begin gradually and become more severe over time.
As the disease progresses, people may experience difficulty walking and talking.
The brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients when its blood supply is interrupted or reduced, resulting in a stroke.
Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. Stroke is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention.
Prompt treatment can reduce brain damage and other complications.
Stroke specialists provide patients with emergency care as well as ongoing treatment.
An ENT (ear, nose, and throat) surgeon, maxillofacial surgeon, neurosurgeon, and a radiologist may be involved in this type of surgery.
The only way to remove growths in this area of the body was to make an opening in the skull before endoscopic skull base surgery was developed.
The neurosurgeon removes the pituitary tumor in small pieces once he has entered the pituitary area.
After all parts of the tumor that can be reached have been removed, the endoscope is removed. The nasal cavity may need to be packed.
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