| Brain abscess |
| A brain abscess is a mass of immune cells, pus, and other material that can occur when the brain is infected by bacteria or fungus. A brain abscess is an infection in the brain that is encapsulated (confined within its own area) and localized to one or more areas inside of the brain. Brain abscesses can occur in all children, but are more common in young school-aged children and occur twice as often in males than in females. |
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| Alpers' disease |
| Alpers Disease is also known as progressive neuronal degeneration of childhood with liver disease (PNDC) or Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome. It is a rare autosomal recessive disorder usually seen in infants and young children. Alpers Disease is classified not only as a prion disease but as a "mitochondrial encephalomyopathy" and therefore is associated with the mitochondrial genome. |
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| Cerebral palsy |
| Cerebral palsy or CP is a group of disorders associated with developmental brain injuries that occur during fetal development, birth, or shortly after birth. It is characterized by a disruption of motor skills, with symptoms such as spasticity, paralysis, or seizures. Cerebral palsy is also known as static encephalopathy and Little's disease (which is strictly speaking only the "spastic diplegia" form of CP). |
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| Epilepsy (seizures) |
| Epilepsy is a general term that includes various types of seizures. Epilepsy is characterized by unprovoked, recurring seizures that disrupt the nervous system and can cause mental and physical dysfunction. A seizure happens when abnormal electrical activity in the brain causes an involuntary change in body movement or function, sensation, awareness, or behavior. There are more than 20 different types of seizures. |
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| Hydrocephalus |
| Hydrocephalus is a condition in which there is a lack of absorption, blockage of flow, or overproduction of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) that is found inside the ventricles of the brain. This may result in a build up of fluid that can cause the pressure inside of the head to increase and the skull bones to expand to a larger-than-normal appearance. A variety of medical problems can cause hydrocephalus. |
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| Pseudotumor cerebri |
| Pseudotumor cerebri is a condition that causes increased intracranial pressure, or pressure within the brain, for unknown reasons. Symptoms are produced that are sometimes mistaken for a brain tumor. Pseudotumor cerebri is a benign process affecting the brain which appears to be, but is not a tumor. It is characterized by increased intracranial pressure and normal brain ventricle size. |
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| Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome |
| Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (WKS) is a neurological disorder. Wernicke's Encephalopathy and Korsakoff's Psychosis are the acute and chronic phases, respectively, of the same disease. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a combination of Korsakoff's syndrome which constitutes confusion, aphonia and confabulation and Wernicke's encephalopathy which is nystagmus, opthalmoplegia, coma and, if untreated, death. |
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| Concussion |
| Concussion is a trauma-induced change in mental status, with confusion and amnesia, and with or without a brief loss of consciousness. A concussion occurs when the head hits or is hit by an object, or when the brain is jarred against the skull, with sufficient force to cause temporary loss of function in the higher centers of the brain. Most concussions are caused by motor vehicle accidents and sports injuries. |
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| Cerebral hypoxia |
| Cerebral hypoxia refers to a lack of oxygen supply to the cerebral hemispheres (the outer portion of the brain), but it is more typically used to refer to a lack of oxygen supply to the entire brain. Severe cases result in a state of complete unawareness and unresponsiveness where brain stem reflexes, including pupillary response to light and breathing reflex, stop. |
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| Shaken baby syndrome |
| Shaken baby syndrome is a collective term for the internal head injuries a baby or young child sustains from being violently shaken. Because of the fragile state of an infant's brain tissue and blood vessels, when a baby is vigorously shaken by the chest, as shown in the illustration above, the whiplash motion repeatedly jars the baby's brain with extreme force, causing serious internal damage and bleeding. |