Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

Non-system-specific Birth Defect
Amniotic band sequence

Canavan disease
Canavan disease is an inherited disorder of the central nervous system in which affected individuals cannot break down a compound called N-acetyl-L-aspartic acid (NAA). Canavan disease is one of a group of genetic disorders called the eukodystrophies.

Spina bifida
Is a condition that often has disabling consequences. With severe spina bifida, a person’s legs and feet are paralyzed, and there are problems with bowel and bladder control. Learning disabilities are common, and mental retardation sometimes occurs

Parkinson's disease
A progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that helps control muscle movement.

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS causes degeneration of the nerve cells in certain regions of the brain and spinal cord that control the muscles.

Alexander disease
Alexander disease is considered one of the leukodystrophies, a group of disorders where the primary abnormality is the inability to maintain the fatty covering (myelin) that insulates nerve fibers in the brain. Alexander disease is a rare disorder of the nervous system that usually begins during infancy or early childhood.

Ear Birth Defect
Anotia/microtia

Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration
Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (formerly called Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome) is a disorder of the nervous system. The condition is characterized by progressive difficulty with movement and speech

vascular dementia
A common form of dementia that results either from narrowing and blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain or by strokes that cause an interruption of blood flow within the brain.

SADDAN
SADDAN (severe achondroplasia with developmental delay and acanthosis nigricans) is a rare inherited disorder of bone growth characterized by skeletal, brain, and skin abnormalities.