Neurological conditions are conditions that have a directly negative impact on the nervous system. But not every neurological condition is due to the same pathophysiology or affects the same part of the nervous system, nor do all neurological conditions present identically (or even similarly) in the clinic.
The brain is the lens through which we experience the world around us. Through processes of input and learning, the brain retains relevant information and can make decisions and take action based on that information.
The brain is constantly sending and receiving electrical signals. When that signaling gets disrupted, a seizure occurs. Abnormal electrical activity in the brain doesn’t always occur during a routine EEG, especially when the patient only experiences epilepsy waves once every few hours or during certain times of the day.
Scientists and historians often credit Santiago Ramón y Cajal with being the father of neuroscience. A Spanish scientist of the late 19th century, Cajal bolstered the groundbreaking claim that the human nervous system was actually made up of individual cells or “neurons.”
A new model, proposed by post-doctoral researcher Dr. Jonathan Rudge, offers a novel, compelling explanation for Alzheimer’s disease: The lipid invasion model. Dr. Rudge’s model takes into account many of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, including not only neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques but the presence of lipids and damage to the blood-brain barrier among others, to describe in great detail how risk factors lead to the damage seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.
Most of the time, our brains can show us a picture that matches the physical world. Visual illusions remind us that the brain doesn’t always get it right, filling in the gaps with our past experiences and bending the perception of reality to meet our expectations. This offers room for translation errors, genetic missteps, and the opportunity for peculiar side effects in how we experience the world around us.
No validated biomarkers exist in epilepsy. Without biomarkers, it’s challenging for researchers, clinicians, and patients to have an objective way of measuring the condition.