By far the most well known of the neurological disorders, at least in America, is a condition known as Alzheimer's disease. It is infamous not only for it's penchant for striking the elderly, but because we cannot fathom the cause or a working treatment. This disorder carries a certain mystique with it, because it has apparently been around since man could keep written records. In fact, Elaine Landau writes, "Shakespeare wrote about very old age as a time of "second childishness and mere oblivion," suggesting that the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were known and recognized even then" (23). The only thing we know of Alzheimer's disease is that it attacks certain centers of the brain, namely the cerebral cortex, the basal forebrain, and the hippocampus. The cerebral cortex is usually the last thing to be effected, but the hippocampus and the nearby entorhinal cortex are the first vic

Rett syndrome is another genetically-based neurological disorder. Unlike many others, however, the specific gene which causes Rett syndrome has been identified. It is caused by a deformation of the MPEC2 gene, which is located on the X chromosome. People who suffer from Rett syndrome exhibit a loss of muscle tone, austistic-like behavior, loss of purposeful use of the hands, a diminished ability to express feelings, avoidance of eye contact, abnormal walks, and occasional seizures. There is no cure for Rett syndrome, and no truly effective treatment has been found either. It is ironic that the best we can do to treat the neurological disorder that we perhaps understand the most about, is to treat the symptoms.

A rather more rare disorder is Joubert syndrome. Joubert syndrome is often characterized as a malformed brain stem. Lack of coordination and poor balance are the most immediately obvious effects, but more serious effects include a lack of muscle control, abnormal breathing patterns, and abnormal eye and tongue movements. Abnormalities such as extra fingers or toes, a cleft lip or palate, or an abnormal tongue formation can be typical of someone born with Joubert syndrome. There is, obviously, no cure for Joubert syndrome. The only treatment possible includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Many infants born with Joubert syndrome die, as the abnormal breathing can cause cases of crib death, as the child suffocates slowly due to not properly formed oral or nasal cavities. Joubert syndrome is extremely rare, however, and thus is not nearly as widely discussed or as well known as some of the other disorders presented here.

Another neurological disorder with a wide base of possible causes, as well as a wide range of effects, is epilepsy. Epilepsy can be caused by anything that disturbs the brain, from a neuron which connects to the improper place to a simple imbalance in neurotransmitters. During a seizure, the neurons in the brain which will normally fire only approximately eighty times per second will fire as many as five hundred times every second. Epilepsy can be treated, but as with most neurological disorders, there is no real cure. In some cases, drugs will suppress epileptic seizures, but in others surgery must be done to impede the seizures. Most people with epilepsy can lead more or less normal lives. Epilepsy can even be brought into recession in some cases, allowing the former

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)