Medical brain notes 7

  Tuberculosis of the Brain : Usually, tuberculosis infection of the brain comes from other parts of the body like lungs or stomach. There is a possibility that the tuberculosis in the chest may be there for a long time, buta decrease in the immunity of the body due to any cause may result in TB of the brain. This disease is so common in our country that the TB organism is present in the bodies of most of the people, having entered through milk or air and its immunity is already there in the body. When the immunity of the body is compromised due to any reason, .and the body becomes weak, active disease develops. A patient of AIDS can get infected with innumerable organisms causing variety of diseases in which TB organisms are the main germs.   Tuberculosis infection in the membranes of the brain is called TB Meningitis and the TB tumor in brain is called as Tuberculoma. The infection of the cortex of the brain is called Encephalitis (Encephalopathy). Headache, low-grade fever,...

  Pyogenic Meningitis : Apart from TB, this is an important and dangerous type of meningitis that occurs due to certain infectious organisms, which form pus in the brain. The pus is formed rapidly on the membranes of the brain and spreads more quickly compared to TB, leading to the deterioration of the patient’s condition within a span of few hours or days. Symptoms range from high fever, severe unbearable headache, vomiting, pain in the posterior part of the neck and photophobia to ultimately unconsciousness, seizures and eventually death in a short time, in the absence of proper treatment. The various types of  Gram-positive and Gram-negative  bacteria that can rapidly cause harm to the brainare, meningococcus, staphylococcus, pneumococcus,streptococcus, listeria, H. influenzie, pseudomonas, proteus, E.coli etc.  An early diagnosis and treatment cancure the patient without any long-term disability or side effects. If there is a severe headache with high fever, ther...

Fungal Meningitis : The fungal infection in the brain is called fungal .meningitis. There are many types of fungus like Cryptococcus, Coccidosis, Candida, Aspergillus, Histoplasma etc. The C.S.F. report is similar to that of tubercular meningitis, but on close microscopic examination fungus is found. (e.g. India Ink Preparation in Cryptococcus). This disease starts with low grade fever, headache, weakness, anxiety and therefore, initially it is not diagnosed and the disease advances in the absence of proper treatment leading to unconsciousness and seizures etc. Usually, fungal diseases occur in patients whose immunity is low, like in cases of cancer, lymphoma, AIDS, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, excessive intake of antibioticmedicines, herpes, chemotherapy for cancer, uncontrolled diabetes, the fungus starts spreading in the body, including brain, very fast. Sometimes the patient may go to the hospital for the treatment of some other disease and may end up infecting himself with TB, f...

  Viral Encephalitis :   This is an extremely fast spreading disease in which the patient gets fever, headache, sudden behavioural changes, depression, photophobia... and then gradually seizures or paralysis or loss of consciousness. This disease quickly damages the cells of the brain and many times leaves residual damage in the body, like memory loss, seizures or behavioral changes. If mumps virus, herpes simplex virus, (HSV-1) arbovirus and sometimes, vericella, Epstein B arr, entero virus enter the brain for any reason, they can cause viral encephalitis. The AIDS virus can also cause encephalitis. Sometimes, the virus affects only the membranes of the brain causing viral meningitis, which is not a very serious disease in comparison. Such viral diseases can be extremely dangerous, like in the USA 10 to 40% of the patients suffering from Herpes encephalitis die. And the same percentage suffers from the disabilities mentioned earlier. Diagnosis : CSF report shows increase in p...

  Falciparum Malaria :   Malarial organisms are a part of the micro-organisms, but they are completely different from the virus and bacteria and belong to protozoa group.- These organisms are known as malarial parasites. There are basically four types of malarial parasites, but the main are vivax and falciparum. Before we discuss falciparum, we will study this widespread disease in detail. The Life Cycle of the Malarial Parasite is considered into Two Stages : 1. The first cycle occurs in female anopheles mosquito. This part of the cycle is known as the reproductive stage. 2. The second part of-the cycle takes place in the cells of the human liver and in the red blood cells. This can be called the stage of development, division and growth. When the Anopheles female mosquito bites a human, along with the sting the sporozoites of the malarial parasite enter the blood stream and within a short period enter the liver cells. Here their development, division and growth take place. U...

  Neurocysticercosis : This is one of the widely known and perplexing parasitic diseases of the brain where the CT scan shows ring enhancing lesions like TB in the brain. It is said that in our country the main reason for the seizures in younger generation is the infection of a parasite named cysticercus, which occurs due to eating meat or unwashed salads. In this case along with the medicines to control the seizures,  albendezole  or  praziquantel  are also given in a proper dose by the neurologist. Avoiding meat and salads or if possible eating after washing properly and heating at low temperature can help avoid this disease.

  Tetanus : This disease occurs due to the toxin produced by a gram positive organism known as clostridium tetani. This organism enters our body through wounds. This poisonous chemical (exotoxin) excites the muscles and the nerves causing tetanus. The muscles get spasms; there is difficulty in opening the jaws (lockjaw). Along with this, arching of the muscles of the neck, back and chin occurs. Initially, the problem is less and gradually withinhours or days, the muscles are continuously excited and the patient starts getting spasms. Finally, it starts affecting the respiratory system and the swallowing muscles and seizures also start. Sometimes when the tetanus limits itself to the wounds, the chances of recovery are more, but in the full blown cases of tetanus, the death rate is around 60% despite treatment. Treatment : The treatment begins by giving Hyper Immune Globulin (3000 to 10000 units). The wound is properly cleaned and a surgical dressing is done. Penicillin is the most ...

  Poliomyelitis : This viral infection of the brain is caused by enterovirus and damages the anterior horn cell of the brain and the spinal cord, which results in handicap. There is sudden fever accompanied by paralysis. Fortunately, rigorous vaccination drives have nearly eradicated this disease from the face of the earth. The treatment is basically supportive and there is no specific treatment available. Avoiding intramuscular injections to small children during fever can prevent many polio cases.

  Rabies : Rabies is a ,  dangerous viral disease affecting the brain, which is contracted by the bite of any warm-blooded animal like a dog, monkey, fox etc. and results in definite death. This disease can occur anytime between 30 to 60 days or even after 6 months of animal bite. In the initial stage there are certain behavioral changes and the patient stays excited and then he may suffer from paralysis etc. The mainsymptom is phobia of water and in a short period death occurs either due to respiratory failure or ceasing of the heart beats. Even the best treatment can rarely save a patient. Therefore prevention is very important. It is advisable that rabies vaccine and anti-serum be used in each and every case of animal bite. The older vaccine has some side effects and therefore newly discovered refined vaccines called HDCV (which are a little costlier) are preferable. In such matters it is important to consult a doctor immediately.