Friday, October 14, 2011

Brain Tumors

The brain is one of three component parts of the brain, the most voluminous, most complex, the seat of intellectual faculties. The brain is located above the cerebellum, separated from it by the tent (one of the three meninges, the dura mater, interposed between the cerebrum and cerebellum). It is composed of left and right hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum. The brain is the part of the nervous system contained within the skull, it includes the brain, the cerebellum and the brain stem (upper segment of the spinal cord). This body supervises the entire organization.

The term disinhibition, used by Robert Bing, disinhibition in English, used in neurology (medical specialty on the central and peripheral nervous system) to refer to the release of the psychic centers and lower motor located below the cerebral cortex. This term also applies to centers to automatically regulate various body functions and control of higher psychic centers after the decisions the cerebral cortex. Disinhibition causes movement disorders and disorders of the tone that we find in the pyramidal syndrome and others.
The term cortical (Latin cortex, corticis: bark, cortical in English) means everything on the cortex. Thus we speak of cortical region of the brain.
The term cortectomy (Latin cortex: envelope and ektomĂȘ: ablation, cortectomy in English) is the resection of part of the cerebral cortex.
The transient global amnesia is the result, among other things, a breach of the hippocampus.
In Alzheimer's disease there is a breach of the hippocampus.
The syndrome is a neurological deficient due to the occurrence of a gap within the brain. This set of symptoms (syndrome) is the result of an ischemic stroke is small ie less than 2 cm.In other words incomplete syndrome occurs as a result of insufficient blood supply (decreased blood flow) in the brain known as ischemia, which is part of a stroke.The lesion in lacunar syndrome is very limited, it is the reason why only one neurological symptom appears, it is hemiplegia (paralysis of half the body). The motor deficit of a half of the body is sometimes accompanied by a hemi that is to say a sensory deficit of a half of the body (the patient does not receive anything in a half of his body).Incomplete treatment of the syndrome is essentially preventive. It is necessary to reduce risk factors that include, among others, high blood pressure and consumption of substances that may have a deleterious effect on the brain and especially on the movement of it (tobacco, toxic, consumption excessive body fat etc.)..The prognosis of lacunar syndrome is usually favorable. Indeed, there is an improvement in a few months. However in case of occurrence of many gaps neurological disorders tend to persist and then settle down to cause a condition known as incomplete and that associates a pseudobulbar affect. The syndrome is characterized by pseudobulbar affect the larynx and pharynx which is the result of a lesion of both pyramidal tracts. Walking in small steps is the intellectual disturbances are usually present also.
Brain tumors are either benign or malignant. It is necessary to distinguish primary tumors, developing from cells of the brain and secondary tumors that correspond to cancerous tumors such as metastatic (from another cancer).
1) Primary tumors of the brain that we do not know the exact cause and corresponding to 60% of primary tumors are gliomas, which are formed from glial cells (essentially acting as a support for neurons). Gliomas are either benign or malignant. The meningliomes sit in the meninges are membranes that cover and protect the nervous system. This variety of tumors is also quite frequent but still mild.
The symptoms are earlier and the evolution is faster when it comes to a malignant tumor. These symptoms are (not exhaustive):

Neurological deficits such as aphasia (speech impairment), localized paralysis, epilepsy, intracranial hypertension resulting in occurrence of headache that is to say, headache, impairment of mental function and vomiting among others.
Thanks to medical imaging is to tell the brain scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it is possible to determine the precise seat of the tumor and possibly provide additional information in concerning its nature. Accurate diagnosis of the tumor (histology: cellular composition of the tumor) is obtained after brain biopsy.
Treatment involves surgical removal of the tumor with guidance by a three-dimensional tracking is called stereotactic tracking. Radiation therapy is sometimes used as well.
2) The secondary tumors of the brain are cells from another cancer located in another location (metastases from multiple tumors). This may include, among others, a lung cancer or breast cancer.The symptoms are identical to those appearing after a brain tumor, but their evolution is faster.The diagnosis of secondary tumors of the brain uses medical imaging techniques that can possibly highlight brain damage and sometimes the primary cancer.

The treatment is the primary cancer provided that it is highlighted.Radiotherapy of the brain is most often used as therapy.The human brain consists of three brains, which are connected, it includes:

The reptilian brain structures whose phylogenetically (during the evolution of species) are the oldest. This is essentially the bulk of the brain stem and particularly the cross-linked (with a role in vigilance) and the basal ganglia (involved in motor control). The basal ganglia are called the basal ganglia by the Anglo-Saxon. The peculiarity of the reptilian brain is its wealth of opiate receptors and opioid some have called endogenous morphine (endogenous morphine). More specifically, this pep-tide (protein strand)-agonist morphine, opiates or opioid peptides. These proteins are composed of amino acids produced by the brain and have the ability to bind to cell receptors of certain brain structures morphine. This results in a sedative for the pain he can compare to that of morphine. These substances are the enkephalins and endorphins. The second type of material encountered within the reptilian brain is the dopamine whose role is essential to protect the species (feeding, defense) and control the behavior needed for basic needs.
 
Paleomammalian the brain or the second brain, called the mammalian brain, surrounding the former in the manner of a ring or if you prefer a limbus hence the name of the limbic system. It is located on the inside of the cerebral hemispheres. The limbic system is principally involved in the regulation of behavior and instinct. It also plays a role in regard to emotions and memory.
 
Neomammalien the brain is located above the reptilian brain and limbic and spreads through the cerebral hemispheres, which is covered with a mantle: the cerebral cortex. The role of this part of the brain is to manage the information coming from the environment. The brain also adapts neomammalien actions and to deploy cognitive functions (language, anticipation, planning, humanization etc.).