Brain damage

From ArticleWorld

Brain damage is a serious condition where, as a result of an insult to brain tissue, permanent cell death or dysfunction occurs. The causes are many. Because brain tissue is particularly sensitive to injury and loss of blood supply or oxygen, brain cells are easily injured do not have the ability to repair themselves or to generate new brain cells to replace the damaged ones.

Causes

There are numerous conditions that can lead to brain damage. Traumatic brain injury due to penetrating trauma, blunt trauma or shaken baby syndrome can lead to brain damage that is often severe. A concussion, on the other hand, is a result of minor brain insult that doesn’t normally lead to brain damage. Loss of oxygen as a result of a cardiac arrest, near-drowning or choking can easily lead to brain damage.

Strokes cause brain damage in one of three ways. An ischemic stroke is due to a blockage of a main artery leading to the brain. The focal lack of oxygen causes the area of the brain that is fed by the blocked artery to become damaged. A hemorrhagic stroke causes bleeding in the brain that damages the nerve cells near the area of hemorrhage. Hemorrhagic strokes often cause increased pressure inside the skull so that remote areas of the brain become damaged by the excessive pressure exerted these areas during brain swelling and bleeding.

Infectious diseases like encephalitis (brain infection), meningitis (infection around the brain) and focal abscess carry the potential of damaging the nerve tissue which is sometimes permanent.

Toxic brain damage can occur in a drug overdose or from a known neurotoxin. In the elderly, brain damage occurs in Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative diseases. A condition known as Jacob-Creutzfeld disease can mimic Alzheimer’s disease but is actually from a viral illness. Mad cow disease is a viral brain disease that is essentially the same as Jacob-Creutzfeld disease. Seizure disorders can be a result of brain damage or can cause brain damage if the seizures are prolonged or oxygen-deprivation results.

Treatment

Most cases of brain damage lead to some sort of motor, cognitive or mental impairment. The extent and location of the damage determines the type and severity of deficits. Almost all patients with brain damage can benefit from rehabilitation in order to maximize the function of the remaining portions of the brain that have not been affected. Rehabilitation should begin as early as possible and be an ongoing part of a brain-injured person’s life. Studies show that, in terms of recovery of function, younger patients tend to do better and recover more function than do older people. In some cases, the underlying cause of the brain damage, if ongoing, needs to be addressed as well.