Brain Dysfunctions – Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Brain Dysfunction

Your brain is the control centre of your body. It controls your growth, development, and all your bodily functions. All your thoughts, feelings, and actions begin there.

Your brain is a part of your nervous system. The body and outside world transmit signals to your spinal cord and brain through a web of nerves. These signals are interpreted by the brain, which sends the responses back out through your spinal cord and nerves.

Diseases and disorders from just about a long list assail your brain. They can affect a person’s behavior, personality, and even their ability in information processing and functioning. Most of the brain diseases show their negative impact on the person’s ability in conducting daily activities.

7 Causes of Brain Dysfunctions

Tumors

Brain tumours may grow when cancer invades from other organs into your brain, such as from your lung, breast, or colon. Or they may arise in the tissue of your brain itself or its coverings.

While those that come from other parts of your body and then spread to the brain are certainly malignant, those that arise in your brain itself or in the coverings of the brain are termed benign if they grow slowly and don’t invade surrounding brain tissue. They’re considered malignant if they grow rapidly and invade surrounding brain tissue.

Astrocytoma is a common tumour arising from your brain itself. Meningioma is a common tumour arising from the coverings of your brain.

Brain Tumours

They grow primarily in the brain and can be very dangerous at times. These are called primary brain tumours. Sometimes, cancer somewhere else in your body may spread to your brain. They are then called secondary or metastatic brain tumours.

Brain tumours may be either malignant or benign. Doctors grade them from 1 to 4. Higher numbers belong to more aggressive tumours.

The cause of brain tumours is yet unknown. They may occur at any age. The symptoms that a patient may face due to a brain tumour depend on the size and location of the tumour. The most common signs of brain tumours are:

• headaches
• seizures
• numbness or tingling in your arms or legs
• nausea
• vomiting
• personality changes
• trouble with movement or balance
• change in hearing, speech, or vision

The kind of treatment you will receive depends on many factors, including your age, overall health, and the size of the tumour. The major types of treatment for brain tumours are:

• Chemotherapy
• Surgery
• Radiation therapy

Neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases cause the nerves and brain to deteriorate over time. They can cause confusion and change your personality. They can also demolish your brain’s tissue and nerves.

Some, like Alzheimer’s disease, come with age and slowly disable your memory and thinking ability of yours.

Others, such as Tay-Sachs disease, start at a very young age and are due to genetic defects in the body. Other common neurogenerative diseases include:

• Huntington’s disease
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• All forms of dementia

Some of the more common symptoms of neurodegenerative disease include:

• memory loss
• forgetfulness
• apathy
• anxiety
• agitation
• a loss of inhibition
• mood changes

Most neurodegenerative diseases are permanent in damage. That means their symptoms will worsen as the diseases advance. It is also likely to develop new symptoms over time.

Treatment can be effective, but there is no cure for neurogenerative diseases. The treatment for such conditions is mainly aimed at reducing your symptoms and assisting in maintaining quality of life. Treatment has often made use of drugs aimed at better management of symptoms.

Stroke

The blood vessels that feed your brain with the nutrients it needs from time to time get blocked or, in rarer cases, burst. In any event, the effects are sudden. Stroke symptoms damages part of your brain.

From that, there can then be problems with speech, understanding, vision, strength, sensation, or coordination. If enough of your brain gets damaged due to one or more strokes, that can result in dementia causes. Seizures occur from time to time due to strokes.

Brain injuries

Brain injuries are mostly caused by blunt trauma. Trauma can cause damage to your brain tissue, neurons, and nerves. This damage changes how your brain talks to the rest of your body. Examples of brain injuries include:

• hematomas
• blood clots
• contusions or bruising of brain tissue
• cerebral oedema, or swelling inside the skull
• concussions
• strokes

Symptoms of a brain injury include:

• vomiting
• nausea
• speech difficulty
• bleeding from the ear
• numbness
• headaches
• paralysis
• memory loss
• problems with concentration

Later, you may develop:

• thigh blood pressure
• slow heartbeat
• dilated pupils
• irregular breathing

Treatment depends on the type of injury you have. It may include:

• medicines
• rehabilitation
• brain surgery

Surgery might be needed to remove or repair damaged tissue. It also can help relieve pressure on the brain. People with minor brain injuries may not require any treatment other than pain relievers.

Most people with brain injuries must have rehabilitation. This can include:

• physical therapy
• speech and language therapy
• psychiatric services

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders include those that concern the growth and development of your brain and are usually taken care of by pediatric neurologists. The likelihood that a disorder is inherited can be diagnosed by medical geneticists. Thereafter, family counselling is provided.

There is a large variety of examples of neurodevelopmental disorders, among them attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and dyslexia.

Mental health disorders

These are some big and very different groups of issues that affect your behaviour patterns: mental health disorders or, simply, mental health conditions. The most common mental health disorders include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Schizophrenia

Symptoms of a mental health condition vary depending on the particular condition.

Moreover, people may experience the same disorder differently. You must discuss it with your doctor if you feel any change in your behaviour, thought process, or mood.

The two major types of treatments for mental health conditions are medication and psychotherapy. Other approaches work better for different conditions. Many people learn that some combination of the above works best.

Conclusion

There are over 600 types of brain diseases. Some are quite common, while others occur in only a few hundred people each year. Your healthcare provider will carefully evaluate you to determine the cause of your symptoms and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

If you or a family member has suffered a brain injury or disease, be sure to follow the treatment and long-term management instructions of your healthcare provider. Treatment, singly or in combination, includes therapy, drugs, lifestyle changes, and the right support to enable you to have as full a life as possible.

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