What Are Some Brain Conditions?

Brain ConditionsWhat Can Affect Your Brain?

Brain conditions or diseases come in a variety of forms. They can range form infections, trauma, stroke, seizures and tumors just to name a few. How you get each of these can vary as well, but the brain is a fragile part of the body and any sort of trauma can be very damaging to your brain. This may even result in death. The symptoms can vary as well, but many symptoms often relate to many different conditions. In this article, I’ll go through certain types of conditions that can effect anyone and how you can learn to prevent or cope with these conditions.

You brain, as I already mentioned, is a very fragile part of your body and this is why it is protected by your skull. In technical terms, your brain is an organ of soft tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating center of sensation and intellectual and nervous activity. It is made up of many specialized areas that work together to function the brain. These areas are the cortex, which is the outermost layer of your brain, the brain stem which is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain, the basal ganglia, which is a cluster of structures in the center of the brain and the cerebellum, which is the base and the back of your brain. Your brain is also divided into several lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

So What Are Some Brain Conditions?

Below is a list of different types of brain conditions that effect your brain and categorized by infections, seizures, trauma, stroke and tumors.

Infections:

  • Meningitis: This happens as the lining around the brain and spinal cord becomes inflamed. Symptoms include neck stiffness, headache, fever, and confusion. These are pretty common with this type of condition.
  • Encephalitis: This is caused by inflammation of the brain tissue, and usually due to a viral infection. Meningitis and Encephalitis often occur together, which is called meningoencephalitis.
  • Brain Abscess: This is a pocket of infection int he brain, usually caused by bacteria; antibiotics and surgical drainage of the area are often necessary.

Seizures:

A common seizure in this category is epilepsy, a condition characterized by recurring seizures caused by abnormal and excessive electrical activity in the brain. Head Injuries, brain infections, and strokes may cause epilepsy as well.

Trauma:

  • Concussion: This is an injury to the brain and is common in many high compact sports. It is a temporary disturbance in brain function, sometimes with unconsciousness and confusion; traumatic head injuries causes concussions and may result in headache, along with concentration and memory problems.
  • Traumatic Brain Injury: Acquired, often permanent brain damage from traumatic head injury, obvious mental impairment or more subtle personality and mood changes occur.
  • Intracerebral hemmorhage: Any bleeding inside the brain, which may occur after a traumatic injury or stroke as a result of high blood pressure.

Tumors, Masses & Increased Pressure:

  • Brain Tumor: Any abnormal tissue growth inside the brain; whether malignant or benign, brain tumors usually cause problems by the pressure they exert on the normal brain.
  • Glioblastoma: This is an aggressive, cancerous tumor, glioblastomas progress rapidly and are usually difficult to cure.
  • Hydrocephalus: This is an abnormally increased amount of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull; usually; this is because the fluid is not circulating properly.
  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: This form of hydrocephalus often causes problems with walking, along with dementia and urinary incontinence; pressure inside the brain remains normal, despite the increased fluid.
  • Pseudotumor Cerebri (false brain tumor): This is increased pressure inside the skull with no apparent cause; vision changes, headaches, dizziness, and nausea are common symptoms.

Vascular Conditions:

  • Stroke: Oxygen and blood flow are suddenly interrupted to an area of brain tissue, which then may die. The body part controlled by the damaged brain area may no longer function properly.
  • Ischemic Stroke: This is a blood clot that suddenly develops in an artery or is formed elsewhere in another artery and breaks off and lodges in the brain blood vessels, blocking blood flow and causing a stroke.
  • Hemorrhagic Stroke: This is bleeding in the brain that creates congestion and pressure on brain tissue, impairing healthy blood flow and causing a stroke.
  • Brain Aneurysm: This happens when an artery in the brain develops a weak area that swells like a balloon. A brain aneurysm rupture causes a stroke, due to bleeding.
  • Subdural Hematoma: Bleeding on the surface of the brain, subdural hematoma may exert pressure on the brain, causing neurological problems.
  • Epidural Hematoma: Bleeding between the skull and tough lining of the brain; the bleeding is typically from an artery, usually shortly after a head injury. Initial mild symptoms can progress rapidly to unconsciousness and death.