Neurology - Hong Kong Medical Consultants (HKMC)

Dementia

Neurology focuses on diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the brain, nervous system, spinal cord, etc., such as stroke, epilepsy and dementia.

What is Dementia？

Factors like Alzheimer's disease and stroke may cause pathological changes in brain neurons, which affect and gradually lower brain functions and ability of patients in memory, understanding, calculation and judgement. In Hong Kong, about 30% to 40% of the elderly at the age of 80 or above suffer from symptoms of dementia.

Impact on Patients

Dementia reduces brain functions of the patient, leading to gradual loss of self-care ability, with effects divided into early, middle and late stages: - Early stage: poor recent memory, weakened elaborative faculty, but self-care ability remains; - Middle stage: emotional instability, day and night reversal, and need help from others for some complicated task in daily life; - Late stage: failure in recognizing relatives, loss of speaking ability and incapacity to take care of themselves.

Diagnosis of Dementia

Clinical examination, cognitive test, blood test, brain positron emission tomography, brain magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

Treatment of Dementia

No radical cure has yet to be discovered for dementia, but various treatments can slow down the memory loss and control emotional and behavioral problems, such as: - Medication: slows down damage of brain cells and controls emotional problems; - Non-pharmacological treatment: including reality orientation, cognitive training, multisensory stimulation, etc., to strengthen the remaining cognitive ability of the patient.

Brain Tumour

Neurology focuses on diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the brain, nervous system, spinal cord, etc., such as stroke, epilepsy and dementia.

What is a Brain Tumour？

Brain tumours are caused by abnormal growth of brain cells, and can be divided into benign tumour and malignant tumour.

Risk Factors

Male, family history, exposure to radiation or certain chemicals.

Common Symptoms

Headache, nausea, difficulty in speaking, change in personality, loss of balance, decline in memory, vision, smell, taste.

Diagnosis Methods

Brain function assessment, examination of vision and hearing, test of facial muscle, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

Treatment Methods

Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, radiosurgery, surgery, targeted therapy, etc.

Epilepsy

Neurology focuses on diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the brain, nervous system, spinal cord, etc., such as stroke, epilepsy and dementia.

What is Epilepsy？

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease with local and general symptoms, such as repeated convulsions, confusion and difficulty in breathing, etc.

Impact on Patients

Injuries (such as those caused by a fall or bruises), hypoxia, aspiration pneumonia, etc.

Diagnosis Methods

Study of medical history, blood test, urine test, lumbar puncture, electroencephalography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, etc.

Treatment Methods

Medication, surgery, etc.

Stroke

Neurology focuses on diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the brain, nervous system, spinal cord, etc., such as stroke, epilepsy and dementia.

What is a stroke？

Stroke is caused by blockage or burst of blood vessels in the brain, which damages or kills brain cells by disrupting blood, oxygen, and nutrient supply.

Impact on Patients

Loss of mobility, loss of language skills, dementia, pressure sores, respiratory infection, urinary tract infection, death, etc.

Diagnosis Methods

Clinical examination, blood test, carotid ultrasonography, brain positron emission tomography, brain magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

Treatment Methods

Medical treatment, surgical treatment, rehabilitation care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.

back

Disease Information

Cardiology

Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism

Gastroenterology & Hepatology