Stroke
A stroke is a condition that occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds or a blockage in the brain’s blood supply. The rupture and blockage often prevent the oxygenated blood from reaching the brain tissues. The loss of blood flow in the brain causes damage to the region’s vital tissues (Sifat & Abbruscato, 2017). Stroke manifests itself through paralysis, numbness in the arm, face, leg, slurring speech, trouble speaking, and dizziness. Three main types of stroke include ischemic, hemorrhaging, and transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Ischemic Stroke
Ischemic stroke occurs when the arteries supplying oxygenated blood to the brain is blocked. The blockages are often caused by blood clots as well as severely reduced blood flow. The stroke may sometimes be caused by the plague pieces due to the breaking off of atherosclerosis and blocking the blood vessel. The stroke often occurs in two main types, which include the thrombotic and embolic strokes. A thrombotic stroke occurs if the blood clot accumulates in one of the arteries supplying oxygenated blood to the brain. The clot usually penetrates through the bloodstream and becomes lodged, hence the blockage on the arteries.
Embolic Stroke
An embolic stroke occurs when a blood clot or other debris forms in other parts of the human body and is transported to the brain. The clot usually forms in the heart or the arteries located at the upper chest. Upon reaching the brain, the clot sticks at the brain’s arteries, preventing the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain cells, hence the stroke. Under most circumstances, the embolic stroke occurs as a result of a heart condition. For instance, atrial fibrillation is a common type of irregular heartbeat that occasions the clots’ formation. The embolic stroke often causes numbness in the parts of the body of the victim.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
The transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a mini-stroke that occurs when the oxygenated blood flow to the brain is temporarily blocked. Significantly, while TIA usually exhibits similar symptoms to the full strokes, the symptoms disappear after a few hours or minutes. TIA often manifests through the temporary numbness of some body parts, general body weakness, and confusion. In most circumstances, TIA occurs as a warning for a future full stroke. People that ignore the TIA and fail to seek medical attention usually end up suffering more devastating strokes in the foreseeable future. However, if properly treated from an early stage, the patients often recover completely, evading possible dangers of full strokes.
Hemorrhagic Stroke
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood artery in the brain breaks open or leaks blood. Blood oozing from the leaking artery often exerts excess pressure on the brain, leading to the brain’s swelling and brain. The swelling leads to tremendous damaging to the brain cells and the tissues located around the region. Hemorrhagic stroke occurs in two forms, the intracerebral and subarachnoid strokes. The intracerebral stroke, which is the most prevalent, occurs when the brain’s tissues are filled with blood from the leaking arteries. On the other hand, the subarachnoid stroke is less common and occurs due to the bleeding between the brain cells and the tissues that cover it.
Parkinson Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects an individual’s movement. The disease’s signs and symptoms often begin gradually, with minor signs such as a mild tremor in hand. At the early stages of the disease, the patient may not show a conspicuous facial expression. The facial expression, however, develops with time to become noticeable. The disease often leads to slurred speech, tremors, and rigid muscles. Such symptoms, however, often differ among different people. Significantly, despite the lack of a cure for Parkinson’s disease, continuous medical attention often leads to the improvement of the symptoms. There are two main types of Parkinson’s disease, which include primary and secondary Parkinson’s disease.
Primary Parkinson Disease
Primary Parkinsonism or idiopathic Parkinson’s disease is a type of disease that has no known cause. Close to 80% of the patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease often have the primary type. The disease often results from the loss of nerve cells in the brain that usually produce dopamine (Kinder & Policy, 2020). Significantly, the disease includes sporadic and familial cases. The aspect means that the disease is often seen occasionally without a definitive geographic concentration.
The risk of contracting the disease increases with age. Most of the patients who have primary Parkinson’s disease are above 45 years of age. Most often, the disease is related to genetic mutations. People that take part in physical exercises usually reduce the risk of contracting the disease. To determine the extent of the disease in an individual, the physicians usually conduct thorough physical examinations on the patients, noting the prevalent signs and symptoms.
Secondary Parkinson Disease
Secondary Parkinson’s disease refers to diseases whose causes are known. Despite the existence of a very minimal difference between the primary and secondary Parkinson diseases, the patients who have secondary Parkinson’s disease often do not respond well to dopaminergic medications such as levodopa. The secondary Parkinsonism includes drug-induced Parkinsonism, vascular Parkinsonism, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NSA), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), among others.
Drug-induced Parkinson’s disease. The disease is caused by certain medications such as antipsychotics. The drug-induced Parkinson disease occurs due to consistently taking such drugs, which accumulate into the victim’s body systems. However, it is usually difficult to differentiate drug-induced Parkinson’s disease from normal Parkinson’s disease. The aspect occurs due to the similarity in the signs and symptoms of the diseases, including tremor and postural instability that develop gradually within weeks, especially after the use of the drugs has been stopped.
Categories of Pain
Pain refers to a distressing feeling, often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. It is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that is usually occasioned by tissue damages. Two main types of pain include nociceptive and neuropathic pain. On the other hand, pain can be classified based on its duration and acute and chronic pain.
Nociceptive Pain
Nociceptive pain is a type of pain caused by the nociceptors in the human body by the noxious and harmful stimuli. The activation of the nociceptor cells leads to the action potential and propagating the nervous messages from the affected body parts to the central nervous system and the brain. Nociceptive pain is a normal response of the body to potential harm and serves to warn the person from potential danger. The nociceptive pain can further be classified into somatic and visceral pain. Somatic nociceptive pain emanates from the body’s surface and is often localized to a specific body region. On the other hand, the visceral pain emanates from the pain organs located in the internal body parts.
Neuropathic Pain
The injury often causes neuropathic pain to the nerves involved in the propagation of electrical signals that send messages of pain from the receptors to the brain. The neuropathic pain is often described as a sharp, shooting pain that is usually more intense. There are several causes of nerve damages, which result in neuropathic pain. Such causes include certain infections, diabetes, and some surgical procedures.
Psychogenic Pain
Psychogenic pain is a term used to describe the pain that is associated with psychological disturbance. The types of pain under the category include anxiety, depression, and stress. Critical factors that lead to psychogenic pain activation include certain fears, beliefs, and emotions of past traumatic events among the affected individuals. The pain causes real physical pain and may not have a clear diagnosis. Significantly, the physical pain manifests itself through headaches, muscle pains, back pains, and stomach aches. The diagnosis for psychogenic pain is often made when the other causes of pain are ruled out. The pain is often treated through psychotherapy, anti-depressants, and non-narcotic painkillers.
Acute Pain
Acute pain is a normal response that alerts the body to injury. The pain occurs for a brief period and may be severe in intensity. The pain is often caused by damage to tissue, such as bone, muscles, and organs (Li & Xu, 2020). The onset of pain often leads to anxiety and emotional distress: Burns, broken bones, and labor, and childbirth.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is a type of pain that lasts longer than acute pain. The pain is usually described as any pain that lasts longer than twelve weeks. The pain extends even after the illness or the injury that caused it has healed since the pain signals remain active in the nervous system. Chronic pain is often linked to headaches, arthritis, cancer, nerve pain, back pain, and fibromyalgia pain. The people suffering from chronic pain undergo physical effects such as tense muscles, limited ability to move around, and general body weakness.
Diabetes Mellitus Type II
Diabetes Mellitus Type II is a disease characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and the relative lack of insulin. The disease consists of an array of dysfunctions characterized by hyperglycemia and resulting from the combination of resistance to insulin operations in the human body (Basso & Severino, 2016). The disease manifests itself in several ways. First, the patient exhibits increased thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger, the unintended loss of weight, and increased body fatigue, among others.
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas and promotes the uptake of glucose in the body. In the type II diabetes mellitus, the sugar builds up in the bloodstream, producing beta cells in the pancreas. Several factors increase the risk of type II diabetes mellitus. The factors include; inappropriate distribution of fats in the human body, inactivity, family history, and an individual’s age. The disease increases the risk of heart conditions and neuropathy, which damages nerves, kidney damage, and disruptive sleep apnea.
References
Basso, N., Soricelli, E., Castagneto-Gissey, L., Casella, G., Albanese, D., Fava, F., … & Severino, A. (2016). Insulin resistance, microbiota, and fat distribution change by a new vertical sleeve gastrectomy model in obese rats. Diabetes, 65(10), 2990-3001.
https://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/diabetes/65/10/2990.full.pdf
Kinder, F. J., Phillips, G., Runnels, L., Hirsch, A. M., Bunton, A., & Policy, D. (2020). Parkinson’s Disease.
Li, Y., Li, J., Cheng, L., Yao, Y., Shen, H., Wang, B., … & Xu, J. (2020). Acute Bone Damage Through Liver-bone Axis Induced by Thioacetamide in Rats.
https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-36674/v1/d0d6bdd2-8e5d-45fe-856c-9c13fa36fd4d.pdf
Sifat, A. E., Vaidya, B., & Abbruscato, T. J. (2017). Blood-brain barrier protection as a therapeutic strategy for acute ischemic stroke. The AAPS Journal, 19(4), 957-972.
file:///C:/Users/valley/Downloads/BBBprotectionischemicstroke.pdf