Common causes of Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome include obesity, activities that cause pressure in the area, resting the elbow on the desk or arm rest, injury to the elbow or arthritis. Some women note Ulnar nerve pain or numbness during pregnancy, which often resolves after delivery.

The test of choice for diagnosis of Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome is a nerve conduction test- called EMG

There are several treatments for Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome. The providers at the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado can evaluate and treat this disorder.

Trigeminal neuralgia occurs more often in women than men, and is more commonly diagnosed after the fourth or fifth decade of live (though it can occur in younger persons).

The pain is often described as sharp/sudden/severe/stabbing or electric shock. The pain can occur at any time, but is often triggered by cold wind/brushing teeth/chewing/ or talking. Some people report pain when swallowing.

Treatment for trigeminal neuralgia can include medications, injections or surgery.

The specialists at the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado can help to diagnose and treat Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Neurosurgeons are physicians who treat conditions that require surgery. For example, a neurosurgeon performs surgery to remove a brain or spinal tumor.

Neurologists do not perform surgery, and treat conditions that can respond to medications, injections, etc. For example, a Neurologist treats disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson’s disease.

If you have a condition that may require surgery, please contact the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado for evaluation.

There are several kinds of hydrocephalus- some that the infant has at birth and some that develop over time. Hydrocephalus is sometimes diagnosed in the elderly population, and can be the cause of balance problems, thinking problems and other symptoms.

Some symptoms of hydrocephalus include (but are not limited to) headache, balance problems and falling, loss of bladder control, thinking, memory, confusion and cognitive problems, vision changes nausea/vomiting for no other cause .

The test of choice to diagnose hydrocephalus is generally a CT or MRI of the brain. If you are diagnosed with hydrocephalus, the team at the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado can help. Please contact us for evaluation.

A herniated cervical disc can be caused from injury, lifting a heavy object, or sudden movement of the neck, but does not need to be caused by trauma. Many people cannot recall a specific injury. The herniated piece of the disc may then pinch or put pressure on a nerve, possibly causing one or more of the following symptoms:

Signs and symptoms of neck problems include (but not limited to):

• Limited movement of the head or neck due to pain or stiffness.
• Neck muscle tightness
• Pain, tingling or numbness in the shoulder, arm or hand (usually worse on one side than the other)
• Weakness in the shoulder, arm or hand
• Clumsiness of the hand or difficulty with fine motor movements, such as buttoning buttons.

For evaluation of neck/arm pain/numbness or tingling, please contact the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado.

 The most common symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are hand pain, finger pain, hand numbness and tingling. Many times the numbness and tingling are worse at night or while doing activities involving the hand such as typing, sewing or driving. Many people report hand numbness troublesome at night, and have to shake the hand to “wake it up”.

 The test of choice for diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a nerve conduction test- called EMG.

 There are several treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that range from hand splints,  medications or surgery to release the nerve. The providers at the Neurosurgery Center of Colorado have experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

One of the most common ways to herniated a lumbar disc is bending, twisting or lifting heavy objects. Shoveling heavy snow is a great way to herniate a disc.

 Symptoms of herniated lumbar disc include (but are not limited to) low back pain, pain that shoots down the buttock or leg, numbness or tingling in the leg or foot, and weakness in the leg or foot. If there is loss of control of the bowel or bladder, the person should go immediately to the Emergency room.

There are many treatments for herniated lumbar disc. The Neurosurgery Center of Colorado has providers who specialize in the evaluation and treatment of disc herniation and other spine problems.

 Some patients need long-term pain medicine to manage their pain. Narcotics, also known as opioids, are natural or man-made medications that relieve pain. These work by releasing small amounts of medications to pain receptors in our body. Some of these medications are designed to “calm” the pain receptors for 2-4 hours, while others may work for 12 hours or more.

 An important term to understand is tolerance. Over a period of time, pain medications may not seem to work as well to treat pain like it did when first prescribed. The body begins to require a higher dose of pain medicine to maintain the same effect; it is not the same as addiction.

 It is also important to know what physical dependence on medication means. If a person had been taking pain medication for several months or years and suddenly stopped taking it, they would have withdrawal symptoms. This is known as physical dependence.  This is not the same condition as addiction.

Addiction is a chronic or long-term disease. It is characterized by behaviors that include no control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. The craving can be pain medication, alcohol or other drugs, and the need to use it for effects other than pain relief.

This surge is attributed to the growing elderly populations in both developed and developing countries. As deaths from other causes like heart disease decrease, the number of deaths attributable to Alzheimer’s, and especially Alzheimer’s-related pneumonia, are increasing. And even when it doesn’t kill those it afflicts, Alzheimer’s often significantly reduces life expectancy, with “61 percent of people with Alzheimer’s at age 70 […] expected to die before age 80 compared with 30 percent of people at age 70 without Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia, accounting for between sixty to eighty percent of all cases. It develops slowly, appearing as memory and mood problems, like forgetfulness, apathy, and depression. Over months and years, the disease progresses, causing “impaired judgment, disorientation, confusion, behavior changes, and difficulty speaking, swallowing, and walking.” The person affected by Alzheimer’s is gradually rendered helpless by this disease. Those who can afford to become reliant upon the care of trained professionals, while those who cannot must rely on the assistance of family members and other unpaid caregivers.

Though the greatest factor in the development of Alzheimer’s is advancing age, it is a disease, and “not a normal part of aging.” The risk of developing Alzheimer’s is generally agreed to be augmented by multiple factors, among them poor cardiovascular health, the presence of diabetes and hypertension, physical inactivity, and smoking and obesity.

Unfortunately, the precise cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown. While researchers understand more and more about the mechanism by which this disease operates, no effective treatment exists to cure it.

The hallmarks of the disease, revealed in post-mortem autopsies, are the plaques and tangles that damage the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers. Plaques are deposits of the protein beta-amyloid that gather upon brain cells, while tangles are accumulations of the protein tau, which collect within the cells themselves. New science suggests that beta-amyloid is produced in the liver of Alzheimer’s sufferers, and that it gathers upon brain cells after having been brought there by the cardiovascular system. One study found that beta-amyloid strips insulin receptors from neurons, thus increasing resistance to insulin, which is necessary for the formation of memories. This finding has led to speculation that Alzheimer’s could be a third type of diabetes. Another study, reported in the New York Times, found that the progression of Alzheimer’s was slowed by nasally administering doses of insulin to those suffering from it.

But perhaps most interesting is the research suggesting that diet can play a powerful role in the prevention of this disease. In the study “Nutrition and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Detrimental Role of a High-Carbohydrate Diet,” the authors begin by stating that “an excess of dietary carbohydrates, particularly fructose, alongside a relative deficiency in dietary fats and cholesterol, may lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.” They then assert that eating too many carbohydrates “leads to a cholesterol deficiency in neurons, which significantly impairs their ability to function.”

From a Paleo perspective, the modern American diet can aggravate many of our contemporary ailments, including Alzheimer’s. While evidence to support this suspicion is still not definitive, there is ethnographic research noting the absence of senile dementia in traditional societies that avoid industrial foods. The Kitava Study observed the health of the inhabitants of the remote Melanesian island of Kitava, “one of the last populations on Earth with dietary habits matching what would have been the case for the population of Homo sapiens in their original habitats.” The Kitavans eat a unique Paleo diet that is 95% vegan, consisting mostly of vegetables and tubers, and which is supplemented by fish. Senile dementia is completely unknown in Kitavan society; not only was none discovered by researchers, but no Kitavan surveyed could recall having witnessed a case. This absence of Alzheimer’s in traditional societies is echoed by Dr. Hugh Trowell, a British physician who managed a psychiatric ward in Nairobi during the colonial period, and who reported that among the disorders affecting his patients “senile dementia was a notable absentee.

While dietary modification is probably a good way to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, until stronger evidence appears in its favor, it should be regarded as a preventative measure, and not a guaranteed method of avoiding this disease.

(Unless otherwise noted, all information cited in this blog came from the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2011 Facts and Figures.)

 The typical American diet is profoundly different from that of our Paleolithic ancestors and is increasingly considered the root of many modern diseases.

In a new study reported by EurekAlert, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center revealed older adults taking fish oil supplements preserved brain volume and had smaller cerebral ventricles (a healthy sign suggesting less brain atrophy). Lead investigator, Lori Daiello, PharmD, states:

 “In the imaging analyses for the entire study population, we found a significant positive association between fish oil supplement use and average brain volumes in two critical areas utilized in memory and thinking (cerebral cortex and hippocampus), as well as smaller brain ventricular volumes compared to non-users at any given time in the study. In other words, fish oil use was associated with less brain shrinkage in patients taking these supplements during the ADNI study compared to those who didn’t report using them.”

 This observational study is just one additional piece of evidence demonstrating our continued movement away from the original human diet comes at a price. In this case, a shrinking brain.