Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

endorphins
Naturally occurring molecules made up of amino acids. Endorphins attach to special receptors in the brain and spinal cord to inhibit pain signals.

NBDPN
National Birth Defects Prevention Network

Central nervous system Birth Defect
Neural tube defects, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly, Dandy-Walker malformation

brain
The part of the central nervous system inside the skull. Its functions include muscle control and coordination, sensory reception and integration, speech production, memory storage and the elaboration of thought and emotion.

BDPM
Birth Defects Monitoring Program

Musculoskeletal Birth Defect
Diaphragmatic hernia, gastroschisis, omphalocele, limb deficiency, craniosynostosis, bladder exstrophy, cloacal exstrophy, sacral agenesis/caudal regression.

NCEH
National Center for Environmental Health

Genitourinary Birth Defect
Renal agenesis (bilateral), hypospadias (2nd or 3rd degree)

Canavan disease
Canavan disease is an inherited disorder of the central nervous system in which affected individuals cannot break down a compound called N-acetyl-L-aspartic acid (NAA). Canavan disease is one of a group of genetic disorders called the eukodystrophies.

Alexander disease
Alexander disease is considered one of the leukodystrophies, a group of disorders where the primary abnormality is the inability to maintain the fatty covering (myelin) that insulates nerve fibers in the brain. Alexander disease is a rare disorder of the nervous system that usually begins during infancy or early childhood.