Neurology is the branch of medicine concerned with the nervous system and its interactions with the body's other systems. The complex nervous system involves many inter-related systems, and the list of treatable conditions is so diverse that it’s necessary to sort them into categories.

Here are some of the major categories comprising the vast field of neurologic medicine:

1. Head and face pain. From migraine headaches to trigeminal neuralgia (episodes of intense pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead and jaw), these are some of the most commonly treated neurologic conditions.
2. Cognitive impairment. Patients who benefit from assessment, monitoring and treatment include individuals with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
3. Movement disorders. Parkinson’s is one of the most prevalent afflictions, and is treatable with medicine or, in Marshfield, using some of the most sophisticated interventional techniques of modern medicine.
4. Circulation disorders. Stroke (brain attack) and brain hemorrhage require immediate and advance medical intervention.
5. Peripheral and spinal nerves. Of numerous conditions in this area of specialty, Guillain-Barre Syndrome is one of the most common.
6. Infections. Meningitis is an example of an infectious disease with neurologic implications.
7. Immune system disorders. With auto-immune system disorders, the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells. Among the more common inflictions are Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
8. Trauma. Unfortunately, concussions triggered by sports injuries or other factors, ATV/snowmobile or motor vehicle crashes and falls from rooftops or tree stands are too frequent occurrences in north central Wisconsin. Brain injuries require intense, sometimes invasive, specialty care and occasionally long-term rehabilitation.
9. Tumors. A battery of treatment options exist for patients diagnosed with a brain tumor. An option for some is the non-invasive, painless Gamma Knife radiosurgery in Marshfield.