Conditions & Treatments

Developed by neurosurgeons, this resource provides patients and their families trustworthy information on a wide range of neurosurgical conditions and diseases. Learn about disease and injury risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options.

Select the treatment or condition you are interested in for more detailed information.

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Patient Content

Christine Coles’ Patient Story

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 30, 2024
After noticing early symptoms of Parkinson's disease, Christine had surgery to implant a deep brain stimulation (DBS) device. Learn how it changed her life.
Patient Content

Claire Snyman’s Patient Story

By:
  • Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, MD, FAANS
  • Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
Last updated: June 26, 2024
Patient: Claire Snyman, 36, Colloid Cyst In 2009, Claire Snyman began to notice she was having difficulty with her short-term memory. Things that she normally had no problem remembering became harder to recall. On May 14, 2010, at the age of 34, she woke to the room spinning. Claire was experiencing her first vertigo attack. Two […]
Patient Content

Concussion

By:
  • Nitin Agarwal, MD
  • Rut Thakkar
  • Khoi Than, MD, FAANS
Last updated: April 29, 2024
A concussion can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and muscle coordination.
Patient Content

Coping with a Traumatic Brain Injury – One Mother’s Story

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: March 27, 2024
Every parent’s nightmare is an injured child. Receiving a phone call telling you that your child has been in an accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is inconceivable, but that was my reality six years ago. My son, Josh, was 24 when he plummeted 50 feet off scaffolding on a construction site, causing […]
Patient Content

COVID-19 and Neurosurgery

By:
  • Samer Zammar, MD
  • Scott Simon, MD, FAANS
Last updated: June 25, 2024
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially classified the novel coronavirus as a pandemic, which means it is now a disease that is prevalent across the entire globe.
Patient Content

Craniopharyngiomas

By:
  • Anand V. Germanwala, MD, FAANSDepartment of Neurological Surgery Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Last updated: April 29, 2024
Craniopharyngiomas are histological benign, but locally aggressive, tumors that develop near the pituitary gland at the base of the brain.
Patient Content

Craniosynostosis and Craniofacial Disorders

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 29, 2024
Craniosynostosis is a congenital deformity of the infant skull that occurs when the fibrous joints between the bones of the skull (called cranial sutures) close prematurely.
Patient Content

Cushing’s Syndrome/Disease

By:
  • AANS
Last updated: April 29, 2024
Cushing's syndrome is a disorder caused by the body’s exposure to an excess of the hormone cortisol.
Patient Content

Deep Brain Stimulation

By:
  • Julie G Pilitsis, MD, PhD, FAANSChair, Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Professor, Neurosurgery and Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Albany Medical College. Dr. Pilitsis specializes in neuromodulation with research interests in treatments for movement disorders and chronic pain.
  • Olga Khazen, BSResearch Coordinator Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Albany Medical College
  • Shrey Patel, BSResearch Assistant Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Albany Medical College
Last updated: April 15, 2024
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an elective surgical procedure in which electrodes are implanted into certain brain areas. These electrodes, or leads, generate electrical impulses that control abnormal brain activity. The electrical impulses can also adjust for the chemical imbalances within the brain that cause various conditions. Stimulation of brain areas is controlled by a programmable generator that is placed under the skin in the upper chest.