Neurosciences refers to the branch of medicine that focuses on the nervous system. The nervous system is made of two parts:
Together, your brain and spinal cord serve as the main "processing center" for the entire nervous system, and control all the functions of your body.
A number of different medical conditions can affect the nervous system, including:
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
Neurologists and other neuroscience specialists use special tests and imaging techniques to see how the nerves and brain are working.
In addition to blood and urine tests, tests done to diagnose nervous system diseases may include:
TREATMENT
Neuroradiology is a branch of neuroscience medicine that focuses on diagnosing and treating nervous system problems.
Interventional neuroradiology involves inserting tiny, flexible tubes called catheters into blood vessels in the groin area and up into the blood vessels leading to the brain. This allows the doctor to treat blood vessel disorders that can affect the nervous system, such as stroke.
Interventional neuroradiology (or vascular therapy) treatments include:
Open or traditional neurosurgery may be needed in some cases to treat problems in the brain and surrounding structures. This is more invasive surgery that requires the surgeon to make an opening, called a craniotomy, in the skull.
Microsurgery allows the surgeon to work on very small structures in the brain using a microscope and very small, precise instruments.
Stereotactic radiosurgery may be needed for certain types of nervous system disorders. This is a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-powered x-rays on a small area of the body, thereby avoiding damage to surrounding brain tissue.
Treatment of nervous system-related diseases or disorders varies may also include:
WHO IS INVOLVED
The neurosciences medical team is often made up of health care providers from many different specialties. This may include:
This list is not all-inclusive.
Society of Neuroscience. What is Neuroscience? Accessed March 16, 2010.
Society of Neurointerventional Surgery. What is Interventional Neuroradiology? Accessed March 22, 2010.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Neurological Diagnostic Tests and Procedures. Updated December 18, 2009. Accessed March 22, 2010.
Reviewed by: Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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