The central nervous system is made up of complex nerve tissues that control the body, it is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. The CNS is vulnerable to various disorders and can be impaired by trauma, tumor, neuronal degeneration and autoimmune disorders. CNS disorders can be complex and it may develop slowly and result in loss of functions known as degeneration or they may happen suddenly and cause life threatening acute problems.
Symptoms
Most common signs of CNS disorders is persistent or sudden onset of headache, memory loss, impaired mental ability, lack of coordination, slurred speech, back pain which radiates from back to the feet and other parts of the body, muscle stiffness and weakness. The symptoms of CNS disorders may resemble with other medical conditions and it is possible that each individual may experience different symptoms.
Causes
Conditions associated to the CNS disorders in an individual can occur due to infections, structural disorders, and functional disorders resulting in significant impairments in cognition and physiological function or death. Structural disorders includes conditions that cause structural defect such as injury caused to the brain or spinal cord, tumors in spine and brain, peripheral neuropathy, neural tube defects, cervical spondylosis, parkinson’s disease and carpal tunnel syndrome. Functional disorders such as imbalance in neurotransmission, inadequate nerve conduction, ADHD, autism, synaptic plasticity, headache, and neuronal cell apoptosis results in patients experiencing symptoms like weakness, movement and sensory disorders. Apart from structural and functional disorders, infections like meningitis, encephalitis and polio which is caused by bacteria and virus can develop in the CNS posing a unique challenge to physicians, due to the inherent difficulties involved in their treatment.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Assessing and diagnosing damage to the CNS is complicated and complex as many of the same symptoms occur in different combinations among different disorders. There is no single test to diagnose CNS problems, usually a careful examination of the patient’s history and physical evaluation coupled with scans and laboratory test will help in distinguishing CNS problems. Test to examine patients include CT (computerized tomography) and CAT (computer assisted tomography) scan that constructs two dimensional images of specific body parts using computers. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced method that uses powerful magnets to capture images without using radiation. For patients suffering from infection, cerebral spinal fluid analysis is performed to examine for bacteria and virus and if detected broad spectrum antibiotics and antiviral treatment will be pursued by the physician.
The development of new pharmaceutical products has successfully addressed a multitude of disease states; however, new product development for treating disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) has lagged behind other therapeutic areas. This is due to several factors, including the complexity of the diseases and the lack of technologies for delivery through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Current therapies depend upon the molecular properties of the drug to penetrate the BBB. Treatments for condition like ADHD, epilepsy, autism spectrum disorders, and dyslexia focuses on improving nerve conduction. Molecules like L carnosine, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitos(SSRI), nootropic drugs like piracetam, antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs are most the commonly used medications. In addition componds like citalopram, rasagiline and certindole are used for the treatment of disorders like depression, parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.
