Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Glossary of Terms

1. Dementia Slideshow Pictures
2. Alzheimer's Disease Slideshow Pictures
3. Brain Foods Slideshow Pictures

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acetylcholine: A neurotransmitter released by nerves that is essential for communication b...

Alzheimer disease: See: Alzheimer's disease.

Amitriptyline: An antidepressant medication. In some patients with depression, abnormal l...

Antidepressant: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a deta...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Dopamine: An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain.

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Elavil: See: Amitriptyline.

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Feeding tube: See: Enteral nutrition.

Gait: A manner of walking. Observation of gait can provide early diagnostic clues for a nu...

Gastrostomy: A surgical opening into the stomach. A gastrostomy may be used for feeding, u...

Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nee...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

Incontinence: The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder, or to kee...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Lab test: A test that is done in the laboratory where the appropriate equipment, supplies,...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Malnutrition: A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive eno...

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Neurologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of th...

Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders o...

Nuclei: The plural of nucleus.

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Occupational therapist: A licensed health professional who is trained to evaluate patients...

Ophthalmologist: A physician who practices ophthalmology.

Ophthalmology: The art and science of eye ?medicine.

Palsy: Paralysis, generally partial, whereby a local body area is incapable of voluntary m...

Parkinson disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease characterized by a fixed inexpr...

Parkinson's disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease that is characterized by a fi...

Parkinsonism: 1. Parkinson disease.
2. A syndrome similar to Parkinso...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Physical therapist: A person who is trained and certified by a state or accrediting body t...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Predispose: To make more likely or render susceptible. Smoking predisposes to a number of ...

Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity, advancing, or going forward. For example, a ...

Progressive supranuclear palsy: A neurologic disorder of unknown origin that gradually des...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Psychiatrist: A physician who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of m...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Reuptake: The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced an...

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

SPECT: An acronym that stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, a nuclear me...

Speech therapist: An older term for a speech- language pathologist.

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Therapeutics: In medicine, the branch that deals specifically with the treatment of diseas...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment,...

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vertical: In anatomy, upright. As opposed to horizontal.

Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of i...