What Are the Most Common Brain Diseases?

Some of the most common brain diseases include Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. These brain diseases are recognized by some tell-tale symptoms and the way they effect the people who have them over time. Brain diseases take both an emotional and physical toll on the victims and those who have to care for them.

Parkinson’s disease is one of the brain diseases that cause people to develop uncontrollable movements in different parts of their bodies. This disease is usually the result of the impairment of certain neurons in the brain, which are responsible for the transmission of signals between portions of the brain related to the production of smooth movements. The impairment of these neurons causes the nerves in the brain to become compromised, which is reflected in the typical jerky and abrupt movements of those who have Parkinson’s. One major contributing factor to the development of this disease is aging, as Parkinson’s is most common among older populations. Parkinson’s is also a progressive brain disease, because it gets worse with time due to the loss of even more brain nerve cells.

Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease of the brain that usually passes down through the generational line of families who have it. This disease also affects the brain cells by causing the degeneration of nerve cells in certain parts of the brain. Huntington’s may start in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. The adult onset of the disease is more common than the early childhood onset. Anyone who has the disease is likely to pass it on to his or her children in the form of a defective gene.

Alzheimer’s is also one of the most common brain diseases similar to Huntington’s and Parkinson’s. This disease is a continually degenerative brain disorder that starts as a form of mild dementia and eventually robs victims a person of his or her ability to perform even basic functions. Alzheimer’s slowly erodes the memory and impairs critical thinking faculties, making it increasingly difficult for those who have it to remember how to function in everyday life. At the initial stage, this disease is mild and may be characterized by an impairment of the short-term memory. In its more severe stage, the disease causes sufferers to depend entirely on others for the necessary care they need to survive.