behavioral neurologist
A NEUROLOGIST
DIAGNOSES
ISSUES AFFECTING
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Neurology is a vital aspect of the medicinal field that deals with disorders of nervous system in your body. It essentially deals with treatment and diagnosis that affect the peripheral and central nervous system. This further includes attributes of somatic and autonomic nervous system. Practitioners in this field rely on the sector of neuroscience. Physicians in this health sector actively participate in translational research, clinical trials, and research. It is essential to deliberate that neurological science is fundamentally a non-surgical specialty. Specialists help in diagnosing issues that affect your muscular system, spinal cord, and brain.
Medical practitioners can have additional training in more than one field of this medicinal branch. These include aspects of neuromuscular, movement disorders, epilepsy, and stroke. Another essential attribute is that of pain management. Such specialists must receive optimal training in internal medicine along with completing extensive course in neuroscience and neurology. You can choose a sub-specialty where numerous choices are available. These comprise of palliative medicine and hospice, clinical neurophysiology, and vascular neurology. Other subspecialties include child and behavioral neurology, neuroimaging, interventional neurology, etc. Multiple sclerosis, headache, neurodevelopmental disabilities, pain and sleep medicine are other essential aspects. You can also specialize in neuromuscular medicine and neurorehabilitation.
Practitioners must ensure comprehensive examination and assessment of a patient’s medical history. A skilled neurologist will ascertain requisite physical examination that evaluates the functionalities of nervous system. You must comprehend varied components and aspects of a thorough neurological assessment. These include evaluating a patient’s motor strength, cognitive functions, reflexes, gait, and coordination. Other essential attributes are assessing the attributes of sensation and cranial nerves in a patient. You can even perform specific additional diagnostic examinations. Certain prevalent tests include Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scans and Computed Axial Topography or CAT scans.
You can conduct neurological tests like ultrasound of blood vessels present in neck and head. There is even a facilitation of neurophysiological studies. These comprise of needle electromyography, electroencephalography and nerve conduction studies. Another crucial attribute is performing of lumber punctures for assessing characteristics of cerebrospinal fluid. Advanced facets of genetic testing have made it an essential tool for classifying various aspects of neuromuscular diseases. A medical practitioner can effectively treat various neurological problems such as headaches, dementia, epilepsy and seizures. You can even diagnose and treat disorders like neuropathy, radiculopathy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. You might be required to evaluate condition of unresponsive patients who are on life support for determining brain death.
It is essential to understand the diverse elements of the peripheral nervous system. Here, you have to analyze the functionalities of sensory receptors like skin, eyes and ears. A critical nervous system disorder that you have to diagnose is cerebrovascular disease like stroke. It is important to detect symptoms of movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, at the earliest. Multiple sclerosis is essentially a demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system. Certain patients can also suffer from neurodegenerative disorders in the forms of Alzheimer’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. A significant point is that treatment options will certainly vary depending on a patient’s neurological problem. Medications for Tourette’s syndrome will obviously be different than that of head trauma or sleep disorders.