Brain and Spine
All brain diseases fall under two categories, meningitis or encephalitis. The Immune system is usually able to take care of the infection, otherwise it may get into the blood and spread through the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding nerves and inflame the brain and/or the surrounding membranes, causing inflammation.
MeningitisMeningitis is an infection of the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal chord.
Causes are usually viral or bacterial, but can also be caused by fungi, reaction to certain medications or medical treatments, certain cancers, inflammatory diseases such as lupus, and traumatic injuries to the head/spine.
Some symptoms include pneumonia, blood poisoning (septicemia), ear and sinus infections, neurological damage ranging from deafness to severe brain damage, fever and chills, mental status changes, nausea and vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), severe headache, agitation, bulging fontanelles in infants, poor feeding and irritability in children, rapid breathing, unusual posture with the head and neck arched backwards, and confusion. |
Bacterial meningitis is not common but can occur when an upper respiratory tract infection travels through the blood stream to the brain or when certain bacteria attack the meninges directly. It is often deadly and can block blood vessels causing stroke and permanent brain damage.
Viral, or aseptic, meningitis is the most common form of meningitis in the United States. It is not usually lethal and can be caused by enteroviruses—common viruses that enter the body through the mouth and travel to the brain and surrounding tissues where they multiply. Enteroviruses are found in mucus, saliva, and feces and can be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person or surface. Other viruses that cause meningitis include varicella zoster (chicken pox virus that can appear later as shingles), influenza, mumps, HIV, and herpes simplex type 2 (genital herpes).
Fungal meningitis is caused by the fungus cryptococcus neoformans (found mainly in dirt and bird droppings). Cryptococcal meningitis is common in AIDS patients. It is treatable but reoccurs in about half of those who have been infected.
Here is a table of the different main types of bacterial meningitis, the bacteria that causes them, some of their affects and any other important information:
Viral, or aseptic, meningitis is the most common form of meningitis in the United States. It is not usually lethal and can be caused by enteroviruses—common viruses that enter the body through the mouth and travel to the brain and surrounding tissues where they multiply. Enteroviruses are found in mucus, saliva, and feces and can be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person or surface. Other viruses that cause meningitis include varicella zoster (chicken pox virus that can appear later as shingles), influenza, mumps, HIV, and herpes simplex type 2 (genital herpes).
Fungal meningitis is caused by the fungus cryptococcus neoformans (found mainly in dirt and bird droppings). Cryptococcal meningitis is common in AIDS patients. It is treatable but reoccurs in about half of those who have been infected.
Here is a table of the different main types of bacterial meningitis, the bacteria that causes them, some of their affects and any other important information:
Type
Pneumococcal
Meningococcal
Haemophilus Listeria monocytogenes Escherichia coli Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
Bacterium
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Neisseria meningitidis
Haemophilus Influenzae Listeria monocytogenes bacteria that are found on healthy humans Mycobacterium tuberculosis |
Other
most common and dangerous form of bacterial meningitis
spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions
was once the most common form of meiningitis
can cross the placental barrier and cause a baby to be stillborn or die shortly after birth most common in elderly adults and newborns and may be transmitted to a baby through the birth canal rare disease that occurs when the bacterium that causes tuberculosis attacks the meninges |
EncephalitisEncephalitis is the inflammation of the brain itself.
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Common symptoms include headache and fever for up to 5 days, followed by personality and behavioral changes, seizures, partial paralysis, hallucinations, and altered levels of consciousness, and severe brain damage in adults and in children (damage after the neonatal period is mostly seen in the frontal and temporal lobes).
Type 2 virus is usually transmitted through sexual contact. An infected mother can transmit the disease to her child at birth through contact the contact of genital secretions, but this is uncommon. In newborns, symptoms including lethargy, irritability, tremors, seizures, and poor feeding usually occur between 4 and 11 days after delivery.
Vector Born Encephalitis-
Powassan encephalitis is tick-born. Symptoms are noticed 7-10 days following a bite and can include headache, fever, nausea, confusion, partial paralysis, and coma. Permanent brain damage occurs in about half of all cases and death occurs in about 10-15 percent of all cases.
Mosquito born include: Equine encephalitis, LaCrosse encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile encephalitis.
Powassan encephalitis is when meningitis and encephalitis are both apparent in an individual.
Type 2 virus is usually transmitted through sexual contact. An infected mother can transmit the disease to her child at birth through contact the contact of genital secretions, but this is uncommon. In newborns, symptoms including lethargy, irritability, tremors, seizures, and poor feeding usually occur between 4 and 11 days after delivery.
Vector Born Encephalitis-
Powassan encephalitis is tick-born. Symptoms are noticed 7-10 days following a bite and can include headache, fever, nausea, confusion, partial paralysis, and coma. Permanent brain damage occurs in about half of all cases and death occurs in about 10-15 percent of all cases.
Mosquito born include: Equine encephalitis, LaCrosse encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile encephalitis.
Powassan encephalitis is when meningitis and encephalitis are both apparent in an individual.
"National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
"Meningitis and Encephalitis Fact Sheet." : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
"Meningitis and Encephalitis Fact Sheet." : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.