Abstract

SUAREZ-ESCUDERO, Juan Camilo. Disability and neuroscience: the magnitude of neuropsychiatric and neurological deficit. Acta Neurol Colomb. [online]. 2014, vol.30, n.4, pp.290-299. ISSN 0120-8748.

Nowadays, "disability" is a neutral term which covers deficiencies in bodily functions and structures, limitations in the ability to perform activities and restrictions in the social participation of a person with a health condition. In this sense, disability ceases to be the result of a disease or sequel of it. Impairment (deficiencies) is any abnormality or loss of a body structure or physiological function including mental function. Neurological and neuro-psychiatric disorders are frequent and specific conditions that cause a variety of structural and physiological impairments associated with potential disabilities. Neurological disorders are those which cause the greatest amount of life years adjusted for disability. The ones whith greater magnitude and frequency are classical neurological stroke-type disease, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, neuro psychiatric disorders such as unipolar depression and mental disabilities. The aim of this paper is to document and highlight the importance and magnitude of impairments neurological and neuro psychiatric, on the issue of human disability. Disability is a cross-cutting issue, and the health sector and the neurosciences are not immune to it.

Keywords : International Classification of Functioning; Disability and Health; Etiology; Statistics on Sequelae and Disability; Neurology; Disabled Persons.

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