What are the types of brain diseases?
What are the types of brain diseases?
There are many types, including hundreds, of rare brain diseases. The general categories of brain diseases include:
Autoimmune brain diseases
Autoimmune brain diseases occur when your body’s defenses attack a part of your brain, mistaking it for an invader. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most prominent of these. Like electrical wires, nerve cells have insulation covering them. Multiple sclerosis attacks this in your brain, spinal cord and the nerves going to your eyes. There are less common autoimmune brain diseases that mimic MS. There are others, like autoimmune encephalitis, which irritate your brain, causing confusion and involuntary movements.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a tendency to have seizures. A seizure is an electrical storm in your brain, typically interfering with consciousness and causing convulsions (uncontrolled movements). Some seizures can be subtle — only causing clouding of consciousness or uncontrolled movements of one part of your body.
Infections
Infections occur when various types of germs invade your brain or its protective coverings. Meningitis happens when your protective coverings are infected. It often causes headaches, confusion and a very stiff neck. Sometimes, it’s necessary to do a spinal tap to find out which germ is causing an infection so the right antibiotics can be given.
Mental illness
Mental, behavioral and emotional disorders can diminish a person’s quality of life and ability to function. Major types include:
- Anxiety.
- Bipolar disorder.
- Depression.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Schizophrenia.
Psychiatrists and psychologists generally treat mental illnesses. If your brain were a computer (and in some ways, it is), your mind would be like a program running in it. In other words, your mind is your brain’s “operating system.” Psychiatrists and psychologists are like computer programmers who try to figure out why this program is causing distress instead of working as it should.
Often, treatment involves both medications and therapy. People are sometimes hesitant to see a mental health specialist. But they shouldn’t be. Mental illness affects 1 in 5 adults.
Neurodegenerative brain diseases
Neurodegenerative disorders are often due to the accumulation of abnormal proteins in your brain. They include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), among many others. They’re most often slowly progressive and interfere with thought, memory, movement or some combination of these things. They’re more common in the elderly. Some run in families.
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders affect the growth and development of your brain, and are usually cared for by pediatric neurologists. Medical geneticists may determine whether a disorder is likely to be inherited. If it is, they provide family counseling. There are a large number of neurodevelopmental disorders, including:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Autism spectrum disorder.
- Dyslexia.
Stroke
Strokes occur when a blood vessel supplying your brain with the nutrients it needs gets blocked or, less often, bursts. Either way, the effects are sudden. Stroke damages part of your brain. This can lead to problems with speech, understanding, vision, strength, sensation or coordination. If enough of your brain is damaged by one or more strokes, it can cause dementia. Occasionally, seizures occur due to strokes.
Traumatic brain injuries
Traumatic brain injuries include concussions and more serious brain injuries such as gunshot wounds. Brain injury may happen due to falls, auto accidents, sports injuries or domestic violence (including child abuse). Repeated head trauma can cause brain scarring, leading to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Neurosurgeons may care for penetrating injuries and bleeding. Psychologists, psychiatrists and speech therapists may be consulted for behavioral and thinking problems after brain injuries. Neurologists often care for the injured as well.
Tumors
Brain tumors can develop when cancer spreads from other parts of your body, such as your lung, breast or colon. Or they can form in your brain tissue itself or its coverings.
Unlike tumors spreading from other places in your body, tumors arising in your brain itself or brain coverings are considered benign if they grow slowly and don’t invade surrounding brain tissue. They’re considered malignant if they grow rapidly and invade surrounding brain tissue.
Astrocytoma is a common tumor arising from your brain itself. Meningioma is a common tumor arising from the coverings of your brain.