Stroke

 About 550,000 Humans suffer from this Brain Scorching Disease every year. That means someone suffers from this disease every minute. But  to who why, how, and when does stroke occur? You are just about to find out.

    Stroke is not one disease but has many branches. And each branch has a name based on how it forms. These names include Brain Attacks, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA's), hemorrhagic stroke, etc. But all of these strokes have one thing in common. It is on blood shortage in the Brain. Those who suffer stroke are usually above the age of 55 or so. Stroke in children is extremely rare. Stroke can lead to paralysis, mental, or physical damages in the brain and even to death within a few hours if not treated.

 The most common form of stroke is know as cerebral thrombosis  This is when an artery in the brain is blocked and blood flow stops. An important flow of oxygen and nutrients is cut off by a clot. And because of this, million of cells die instantly. Depending on which part of the brain the blood doesn't reach effects the damage type. 

Cerebral embrosis occurs whenever there is a blood clot elsewhere in the body and that artery leads up to the brain. There also the supply of nutrients and oxygen is cut off.
And many more such as hemorrhages where blood vessels burst open in the brain and and a massive session of blood clots and internal bleeding occur. These occur when a patient has high blood pressure.

    There are many more reasons why stroke forms, one includes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) sickle cell anemia, migraine drug abuse and many more.

    Some symptoms of stroke include dizziness, weakness, lack of consciousness or like what my grandfather faced, vomiting, paralysis on a particular side of the body right/left and a loss of balance and coordination. If you put hot water on his left leg he won’t feel anything, but if you put cold water on the same leg of his, he will feel a painful burning sensation.

Although the large number of 550,000 people who suffer of stroke every year, the death rates and stroke rates have plummeted because of a more sophisticated supply of medicine and education on stroke. Medicines such as t-PA have been introduced dispersing blood clots rapidly within 1-3 hours. But a patient with stroke must consult a doctor immediately, for the amount of damage to the brain increases with every minute left untreated. 


    And now, my grandfather has lost much of his balance and coordination as well as control of some body parts.He is lucky to live and so are many people now thanks to medicines. 

There are many diseases which increase the chance of getting stroke. These include diabetes, blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart diseases and etc.

But of all the risks, hypertension is the greatest. There are also multiple risk factors for stroke including smoking, which doubles your chances of getting stroke. "It is responsible for a greater percentage of the total number of strokes in young adults than in older adults." (Brain Disorders Sourcebook)

Blood pressure diseases such as hypertension, multiply the chance of you getting stroke by 6x's. An entire 3^rd of the adult population have hypertension, and 40-70 percent of which are senior citizens. The systolic pressure (max blood pressure for the left artery of the heart) should be 120mm and a diastolic (blood pressure between heartbeats) of 80mm is considered normal.

The second most common cause for stroke, is Heart Disease. This is because a faltering vain leading up to the brain, could lead to clotting. Abnormal beating of the left artery is a major heart disease in terms of contribution towards stroke. This is known as atrial fibrillation. This affects 2.2million people in the U.S. alone. 15% of people who have stroke have this condition.

Credits- Brain Disorders Sourcebook- Judd, Sandra

Protection of the brain

The protection of the brain is a vital part of your survival. Although brain functions are important and complicated, safety comes first. Without protection to your brains, they can be penetrated and damage at every step you take while walking. 

The brain is found inside a bone shelter called the cranium. The cranium will protect the brain from concussion and many other injuries. Together, the cranium, cheek bones, jaw bones, teeth and etc. form the skull protecting your whole face from injury. The cranium will provide the tough protection of anything trying to penetrate through the bone. But the cranium is not enough to protect the brain, because every hard hit you take to the head will affect the brain through shocks from the cranium.

This is why we also have 3 other layers known as the meninges. These layers are made up of tissue which cover and blanket the surface area of the brain's cerebral cortex as well as the spinal cord.  The three layers are known as dura mater, archanoid, and pia mater. Let's take a closer look at these. 

The dura mater is made of 2 layers of a white-like, non flexible thin wire called the membrane. The outer layer of the dura mater is called the periosteum  An inner layer called the dura makes the outer most inner part of the skull. The dura and the falx(a minor layer) separate both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. And at the same time the dura and the tentorium separate both top and bottom hemispheres.

The second layer know as the archanoid is a thin, delicate layer and unlike the dura mater, it is very elastic, in fact this stretches to cover the entire brain. This layer carries many blood vessels of many different sizes across its wide range. The archanoid serves as a secondary layer and gives the brain more like a transport system for blood vessels. 

The layer of meninges closest to the surface of the brain is known as the pia mater. This carries many blood vessels from the stretchable archanoid deep into the brain. The pia mater is the one which has a bumpy bottom surface to firmly but gently cradle the brain and keep it in place with the support of the other meninges. There is a gap found between the pia mater and the archanoid known as the subarchanoid space. This is were your cerebrospinal fluid flows(CSF).

CSF is found surrounding the brain and the spinal cord. It is a clear and has a similar viscosity to water. This helps cushion the brain including the spinal cord from any injury. The CSF serves other interesting purposes such as flowing out waste. It also serves as a transportation route to transport hormones around to parts of the brain. When CSF builds too much in ventricles, obstructs ventricles, or has problems without absorbing waste you are diagnosed with the condition of hydrocephalus.

So, imagine what it would be like without brain protection, in fact if you didn't have brain protection you couldn't even imagine! You would be receiving concussions every second. So remember every part of the brain and nervous system plays a vital role in your survival, not just boosted thinking where you wouldn't have anything to loose. Credits: Human Brain Diseases a Sourcebook