Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

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.

CBDRP
Centers for Birth Defects Research & Prevention

Bell's palsy
A weakness or paralysis of the muscles that control expression on one side of the face because of damage to a facial nerve.

NBDPN
National Birth Defects Prevention Network

trigeminal neuralgia
A painful condition caused by a disturbance in the function of the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.

enkephalins
(en-KEF-uh-lins). Naturally occurring molecules in the brain. Enkephalins attach to special receptors in the brain and spinal cord to inhibit pain messages. They also affect other functions within the brain and nervous system.

Guillain-Barre (ge-YAH buh-RA) syndrome
An inflammatory disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves) and, more rarely, parts of the brain itself.

Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome
Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by the remature joining of certain bones of the skull (craniosynostosis) and a skin disorder called acanthosis nigricans.

neural tube defect
A structure in early fetal life that develops into the brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and spine.

stroke
A condition produced by a blood clot that lodges in an artery and blocks the flow of blood to a portion of the brain, producing symptoms ranging from paralysis of limbs and loss of speech to unconsciousness and death. Less commonly, a stroke may be the result of bleeding into the substance of the brain.