Vascular Diseases—Brain Diseases

The brain is the control center of the body. It controls thoughts, memory, speech, and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. However, when problems occur, the results can be devastating.

Inflammation in the brain can lead to problems such as vision loss, weakness and paralysis. Loss of brain cells, which happens if you suffer a stroke, can affect your ability to think clearly. Brain tumors can also press on nerves and affect brain function. Some brain diseases are genetic. And we do not know what causes some brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The symptoms of brain diseases vary widely depending on the specific problem. In some cases, damage is permanent. In other cases, treatments such as surgery, medicines, or physical therapy can correct the source of the problem or improve symptoms.

• Basal ganglia dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Brain abscess (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Brain surgery (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Central pontine myelinolysis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) collection (Medical Encyclopedia)
• EEG (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hepatic encephalopathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pseudotumor cerebri (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)

The vascular system is the body’s network of blood vessels. It includes the arteries, veins and capillaries that carry blood to and from the heart. Problems of the vascular system are common and can be serious. Arteries can become thick and stiff, a problem called atherosclerosis. Blood clots can clog vessels and block blood flow to the heart or brain. Weakened blood vessels can burst, causing bleeding inside the body.

You are more likely to have vascular disease as you get older. Other factors that make vascular disease more likely include

• Family history of vascular or heart diseases
• Pregnancy
• Illness or injury
• Long periods of sitting or standing still
• Any condition that affects the heart and blood vessels, such as diabetes or high cholesterol
• Smoking
• Obesity

Losing weight, eating healthy foods, being active and not smoking can help vascular disease. Other treatments include medicines and surgery.

• Aortic arch syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Arterial embolism (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Arteriogram (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Cerebral angiography (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Duplex ultrasound (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Venous insufficiency (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Venous ulcers — self-care (Medical Encyclopedia)