Apr 21st, 2022 - Overview What is frontotemporal dementia? Frontotemporal dementia refers to a group of diseases that involve the deterioration of your brain's frontal and temporal lobes. As those areas deteriorate, you lose the abilities those parts controlled. People with FTD commonly lose control of their behavior or ability to speak and understand spoken language. People with FTD can fall under one of the t...

Apr 15th, 2022 - Overview What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease is a condition where a part of your brain deteriorates, causing more severe symptoms over time. While this condition is best known for how it affects muscle control, balance and movement, it can also cause a wide range of other effects on your senses, thinking ability, mental health and more. Who does it affect? The risk of developing Pa...

Apr 9th, 2022 - Overview Cerebellum and brainstem Open pop-up dialog box Close Cerebellum and brainstem Cerebellum and brainstem Persistent ataxia usually results from damage to the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination (cerebellum). Ataxia describes poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It may cause difficulty with walking and balance, hand coordination, speech and swallow...

Mar 26th, 2022 - Overview Paraneoplastic syndromes of the nervous system are a group of uncommon disorders that develop in some people who have cancer. Paraneoplastic syndromes can also affect other organ systems including hormones (endocrine), skin (dermatologic), blood (hematologic) and joints (rheumatologic). Paraneoplastic syndromes of the nervous system occur when cancer-fighting agents of the immune syste...

Mar 16th, 2022 - Overview What is corticobasal degeneration? Corticobasal degeneration is a neurological (brain) disorder. It damages cells in your brain, causing parts of it to shrink (atrophy). The disease’s symptoms may first appear on one side of your body, but eventually affect both sides as the disease progresses. With progression, you gradually lose your ability to talk, swallow and move. The disease cou...

Feb 22nd, 2022 - Corticobasal degeneration care at Mayo Clinic Your Mayo Clinic care team. At Mayo Clinic, an integrated team of doctors trained in nervous system conditions (neurologists), nervous system conditions and psychological conditions (neuropsychologists), nervous system conditions and radiology (neuroradiologists), speech and language (speech-language pathologists), mental health conditions (psychiat...

Feb 22nd, 2022 - Diagnosis A diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (corticobasal syndrome) is made based on your signs and symptoms. However, your signs and symptoms could be due to another degenerative disease such as progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. You may need an imaging test, such as a CT scan or MRI, to rule out these other conditions. Som...

Feb 22nd, 2022 - Overview Corticobasal degeneration, also called corticobasal syndrome, is a rare condition in which areas of your brain shrink and your nerve cells degenerate and die over time. The disease affects the area of the brain that processes information and brain structures that control movement. This degeneration results in growing difficulty in movement on one or both sides of your body. The conditi...

Feb 7th, 2022 - Overview Woman drinking liquid with inset of digestive system (center) and (left) detail on normal and abnormal B-12 absorption process. What is pernicious anemia? Pernicious (per-nish-uhs) anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12. Without adequate vitamin B12, you have fewer red blood cells carrying oxyge...

Feb 3rd, 2022 - Overview What is back pain? Pain in your back can be an annoying ache, or it can get so bad that it’s unbearable. Back pain is the second most common reason why people visit their healthcare providers (just after colds). Many people miss work because of it. Around 80% to 90% of people in the United States will have back pain at some point in their lives. What are the types of back pain? Back pa...

Jan 20th, 2022 - Overview What is myopathy? Myopathy refers to diseases that affect skeletal muscles (muscles that connect to your bones). These diseases attack muscle fibers, making your muscles weak. Are there different types of myopathies? Myopathy can be categorized by its cause. Basically, myopathies are separated into two categories: inherited and acquired. Inherited myopathies Inherited myopathies are th...

Jan 14th, 2022 - How common are eye diseases and conditions? More than 3.4 million people in the U.S. age 40 and older meet the definition of “legal blindness” (visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better-seeing eye or visual field of 20 degrees or less) or have corrected vision (visual acuity of 20/40 or less), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 7% of U.S. children under the ...

Jan 6th, 2022 - Retinal disease care at Mayo Clinic Teamwork Mayo Clinic ophthalmologists, eye surgeons, pediatric ophthalmologists, neuro-ophthalmologists and others work together to diagnose and treat adults and children with retinal diseases. Retinal experts collaborate with other specialists to provide care for the whole person. For example, if you have diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor can consult wit...

Jan 6th, 2022 - Overview Parts of the eye Open pop-up dialog box Close Parts of the eye Parts of the eye Located at the back of your eye in the center of your retina, a healthy macula allows for normal central vision acuity. The macula is made up of densely packed light-sensitive cells called cones and rods. Cones are responsible for color vision, and rods enable you to see shades of gray. Retinal diseases var...

Jan 6th, 2022 - Diagnosis To make a diagnosis, your ophthalmologist conducts a thorough eye exam and looks for abnormalities anywhere in the eye. The following tests may be done to determine the location and extent of the disease: Amsler grid test. Your doctor may use an Amsler grid to test the clarity of your central vision. He or she will ask you if the lines of the grid seem faded, broken or distorted and w...

Nov 16th, 2021 - Diagnosis There's no single test for frontotemporal dementia. Doctors look for signs and symptoms of the disease and try to exclude other possible causes. The disorder can be especially challenging to diagnose early because symptoms of frontotemporal dementia often overlap with those of other conditions. Blood tests To help rule out other conditions, such as liver or kidney disease, your doctor...

Oct 29th, 2021 - Overview Posterior cortical atrophy is a degenerative brain and nervous system (neurological) syndrome that results in difficulty with eyesight and processing visual information. Common symptoms include difficulties with reading, judging distances, and reaching for objects, as well as trouble with calculations and recognizing objects and familiar faces. Over time this condition may cause your m...

Oct 2nd, 2021 - Overview What is myelopathy? Myelopathy describes a collection of symptoms that result from severe spinal compression. When something compresses (squeezes) the spinal cord, it can’t function properly. That can lead to pain, loss of feeling or difficulty moving certain parts of the body. The spine encases the spinal cord — a collection of nerves that carry messages between your brain and body. U...

Aug 21st, 2021 - Diagnosis There is no single test that confirms a diagnosis of primary lateral sclerosis (PLS). In fact, because the disease can mimic signs and symptoms of other neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ALS, your doctor is likely to order several tests to rule out other diseases. After taking a careful record of your medical history and family history and performing a neurological ...

Jun 24th, 2021 - Diagnosis Diabetic retinopathy is best diagnosed with a comprehensive dilated eye exam. For this exam, drops placed in your eyes widen (dilate) your pupils to allow your doctor a better view inside your eyes. The drops can cause your close vision to blur until they wear off, several hours later. During the exam, your eye doctor will look for abnormalities in the inside and outside parts of your...