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Maar een ding: ek vergeet die dinge wat agter is en strek my uit na wat voor is,
en jaag na die doel om die prys te verkry van die hoë roeping van God in Christus Jesus.
--Paulus in Filipense 3:14
Neurologiese siektes raak nie slegs die persoon wat daarmee moet saam leef nie. Die aard en tipe neurologiese toestand sal ook bepaal tot watter mate gesinslede, familie, vriende, opvoedkundiges, kollegas en wie ook al in die persoon se lewe is, daardeur geraak word.
Omdat neurologiese toestande so ‘n wye veld dek, word hierdie afdeling van ons webwerf hoofsaaklik gebruik om bekende, en ook minder bekende, siekte toestande te bespreek. Inligting wat betrekking het op meer as een siekte toestand of lewenswyse as gevolg van ‘n neurologiese toestand, sal jy in ons Artikels afdeling kry.
Laat weet ons asseblief as daar ‘n spesifieke neurologiese toestand is waaroor jy meer wil weet. Vertel ons ook van neurologiese toestande waarmee jy of jou familie of vriende saam leef sodat ons ons persoonlike uitdagings probleme en suksesse met mekaar kan deel. Ons
kan hier gekontak word
Hierdie is nie ‘n Mediese Webblad nie. Alle artikels en skakels na ander webblaaie is uitsluitlik vir inligting. Lesers moet asseblief hulle geneeshere kontak vir enige diagnoses, medikasie, verwysings na spesialiste of terapeute.
Hierdie skakels word hier geplaas bloot ter inligting en vir jou gerief. Ons het geen kontrole oor, of invloed op, die inhoud van hierdie bladsye nie. Ons kan geen verantwoordelikheid aanvaar vir enige inligting wat daar geplaas word nie. Ons glo vas daaraan dat kennis mag is en is seker dat hierdie kwaliteit webblaaie jou sal inspireer om soveel moontlik te wete te kom van enige neurologiese toestand en algemene inligting sodat jy beheer oor jou omstandighede kan neem en ‘n vol en produktiewe lewe sal kan hê.
A neurological disease does not only have an impact on the person who has to live with the disease, it also have an impact on others who live, or come in contact, with the person. The type and severity of the neurological disease, plays a major role in how it affects the person him/her self as well as their parents, spouses, children, family, friends, teachers and people living or working together with him or her.
This section of our web site will be dedicated to discussions of specific neurological diseases. We wil discuss well-known as well as less familiar diseases. Information and topics applicable to more than one disease or day-to-day living as result of a neurological disease, will be available from our Articles section.
Please let us know if there is a neurological disease of which you want more information. We will do our best to assist you in finding the information. We want to hear from you too. Tell us about your own experience of an disease you, a family member or friend are dealing with. We want to share information and experiences to assist one another on the road of overcoming life’s challenges, problems and successes. We
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According to Wikipedia, the free Encyclopaedia, Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss, usually in one ear.
It is caused by an increase in volume and pressure of the endolymph of the inner ear. It is named after the French physician Prosper Ménière, who first reported that vertigo was caused by inner ear disorders in an article published in 1861.
The symptoms of Ménière's are variable; not all sufferers experience the same symptoms. However, so-called "classic Ménière's" is considered to comprise the following four symptoms :
Ménière's often begins with one symptom, and gradually progresses. A diagnosis may be made in the absence of all four classic symptoms. However, having several symptoms at once is more conclusive than having each individual symptom at separate times.
Attacks of vertigo can be severe, incapacitating, and unpredictable. In some patients, attacks of vertigo can last for hours or days, and may be accompanied by an increase in the loudness of tinnitus and temporary, albeit significant, hearing loss in the affected ear(s). Hearing may improve after an attack, but often becomes progressively worse.
Vertigo attacks are sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sweating.
Some sufferers experience what are informally known as "drop attacks" — a sudden, severe attack of dizziness or vertigo that causes the sufferer, if not seated, to fall. Patients may also experience the feeling of being pushed or pulled (Pulsion). Some patients may find it impossible to get up for some time, until the attack passes or medication takes effect. There is also the risk of injury from falling.
In addition to hearing loss, sounds can seem tinny or distorted, and patients can experience unusual sensitivity to noises (hyperacusis). Some sufferers also experience nystagmus, or uncontrollable rhythmical and jerky eye movements, usually in the horizontal plane, reflecting the essential role of the balance system in coordinating eye movements.
Other symptoms include so-called "brain fog" (temporary loss of short term memory, forgetfulness, and confusion), exhaustion and drowsiness, headaches, vision problems, and depression. Many of these latter symptoms are common to many chronic diseases.
The exact cause of Ménière's disease is not known, but it is believed to be related to endolymphatic hydrops or excess fluid in the inner ear. It is thought that endolymphatic fluid bursts from its normal channels in the ear and flows into other areas causing damage. This may be related to swelling of the endolymphatic sac or other tissues in the vestibular system of the inner ear, which is responsible for the body's sense of balance.
The symptoms may occur in the presence of a middle ear infection, head trauma or an upper respiratory tract infection, or by using aspirin, smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. They may be further exacerbated by excessive consumption of caffeine and salt in some patients. Excessive levels of potassium in the body (usually caused by the consumption of potassium rich foods) may also exacerbate the symptoms.
It has also been proposed that Ménière's symptoms in some patients may be caused by the deleterious effects of a herpes virus. Herpesviridae are present in a majority of the population in a dormant state. It is suggested that the virus is reactivated when the immune system is depressed due to a stressor such as trauma, infection or surgery (under general anaesthesia). Symptoms then develop as the virus degrades the structure of the inner ear.
Many disorders have symptoms similar to Ménière's. The diagnosis is usually established by clinical findings and medical history. However, a detailed oto-neurological examination, audiometry and head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan should be performed to exclude a tumour of the eighth cranial nerve (vestibulocochlear nerve) or superior canal dehiscence which would cause similar symptoms. Because there is no definitive test for Ménière's, it is only diagnosed when all other causes have been ruled out.
According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ménière’s disease typically starts between the ages of 20 and 50 years, and men and women are affected in equal numbers.[According to other research, Ménière's typically begins between the ages of 30 and 60 and affects men slightly more than women.
Ménière's disease had been recognized prior to 1972, but it was still relatively vague and broad at the time. Committees at the Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology made set criteria for diagnosing Ménière's, as well as defining two sub categories of Ménière's: cochlear (without vertigo) and vestibular (without deafness).
Initial treatment is aimed at both dealing with immediate symptoms and preventing recurrence of symptoms, and so will vary from patient to patient. Doctors may recommend vestibular training, methods for dealing with tinnitus, stress reduction, hearing aids to deal with hearing loss, and medication to alleviate nausea and symptoms of vertigo.
Several environmental and dietary changes are thought to reduce the frequency or severity of symptom outbreaks. Most patients are advised to adopt a low-sodium diet typically one to two grams (1000-2000mg) at first, but diets as low as 400mg are not uncommon. Patients are advised to avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, all of which can aggravate symptoms of Ménière's. Some recommend avoiding Aspartame. Patients are often prescribed a mild diuretic (sometimes vitamin B6). Many patients will have allergy testing done to see if they are candidate for allergy desensitization as allergies have been shown to aggravate Ménière's symptoms.
Women may experience increased symptoms during pregnancy or shortly before menstruation, probably due to increased fluid retention.
Many patients consider fluorescent lighting to be a trigger for symptoms. The plausibility of this can be explained by how important a part vision plays in the overall mechanism of human balance.
Surgery may be recommended if medical management does not control vertigo. Injection of steroid medication behind the eardrum, or surgery to decompress the endolymphatic sac may be used for symptom relief. Permanent surgical destruction of the balance part of the affected ear can be performed for severe cases if only one ear is affected. This can be achieved through chemical labyrinthectomy, in which a drug (such as gentamicin ) that "kills" the vestibular apparatus is injected into the middle ear. The nerve to the balance portion of the inner ear can be cut (vestibular neurectomy), or the inner ear itself can be surgically removed (labyrinthectomy). These treatments eliminate vertigo, but because they are destructive, they are used only as a last resort. Typically balance returns to normal after these procedures, but hearing loss may continue to progress.
Progression of Ménière's is unpredictable: symptoms may worsen, disappear altogether, or remain the same. Sufferers whose Ménière's began with one or two of the classic symptoms may develop others with time. Attacks of vertigo can become worse and more frequent over time, resulting in loss of employment, loss of the ability to drive, and inability to travel. Some patients become largely housebound. Hearing loss can become more profound and may become permanent. Some patients become deaf in the affected ear. Tinnitus can also worsen over time. Some patients with unilateral symptoms, as many as fifty percent by some estimates, will develop symptoms in both ears. Some of these will become totally deaf. Yet the disease may end spontaneously and never repeat again. Some sufferers find that after eight to ten years their vertigo attacks gradually become less frequent and less severe; in some patients they disappear completely. In some patients, symptoms of tinnitus will also disappear, and hearing will stabilize (though usually with some permanent loss).
More information on Meniere's Disease/Syndrome can be found at
Mediere's Guide Book
Or from Wikipedia
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