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CROHN'S DISEASE EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
Aug 28, 2010 | By Matthew Busse
www.livestrong.com
Crohn's disease belongs to a group of conditions known as inflammatory bowel diseases, or IBD. In patients with Crohn's disease, the digestive tract, also called the gastrointestinal or GI tract, becomes inflamed and swollen, causing pain, discomfort and difficulties with digesting food. While most of the symptoms of Crohn's disease involve the abdomen and the digestive tract, symptoms affecting the brain and the nervous system have also been reported by some patients.
PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common neurological complication associated with Crohn's disease, occurring in 0.2 to 35.7 percent of patients with the disease, reports a study published in the February 2005 issue of the medical journal "Brain." Peripheral neuropathy is a condition characterized by damage to the nerves connecting the brain with the rest of the body. Symptoms of neuropathy usually do not develop for roughly 10 years after the onset of Crohn's disease, the study explains. Peripheral neuropathy can cause several different symptoms, such as numbness, tingling or burning sensations in the arms and legs, muscle weakness throughout the body, difficulty walking, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting and sexual dysfunction, according to MedlinePlus.
ADDITIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
Crohn's disease may cause other neurological disorders in up to 67 percent of patients, the study in "Brain" reports. Strokes and other types of intracerebral haemorrhage and transient ischaemic attack are increased in patients with Crohn's disease. Vision problems may also occur such as double vision, inflammation of the optic nerve, inflammation of the eyeball, and spotted vision caused by leaking fluids in the eye. Crohn's disease has also been linked to Bell's palsy, which is a temporary paralysis of the face. The risk of seizures and muscle tremors is also increased in patients Crohn's disease.
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
The role of stress in Crohn's disease is somewhat controversial, with some studies finding that stress increases the symptoms of Crohn's disease and other studies finding no relation, reports a study published in 2008 in the journal "Digestive Diseases." However, most studies agree that patients with Crohn's disease have a high incidence of psychological disorders, the study concludes. Researchers are still trying to determine if the psychological disorders are a symptom or related to the cause of Crohn's disease.
