Brain Tumor

                                         Brain Tumor

Brain is the only integral part of our body by which we are in this state. It is the only organ which can't be transplanted hitherto instead other organs like heart,kidney,eyes can be. It is by this organ which differs us from other living things and give us potential to control them.

Instead of its limitless gift to human kind, it itself is also not secure. It can be attacked by many ailments. When we are being attacked by physical illness, there wont be too much effect in brain but if its being attacked, our physics also gets effected.

Introduction:

The brain is a soft, spongy mass of tissue. It is protected by the bones of the skull and three thin membranes called meninges. Watery fluid called cerebrospinal fluid cushions the brain. Human brain controls the central nervous system (CNS), by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and regulates virtually all human activity. A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in the brain. Brain tumors produce a variety of symptoms, ranging from headache to stroke. There are two types of brain tumors: primary brain tumors and secondary brains tumors. Primary brain tumors can be cancerous or noncancerous. Primary brain tumors include any tumor that starts in the brain.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of brain tumor vary according to where its located or originated. Some basic symptoms will be described as follows-

Frontal lobe – Tumors in the Frontal lobe can cause the following: changes in personality or intellect, lack of co-ordination especially in walking, some weakness usually in one side of the body, some speech difficulties.

Parietal lobe – Tumors in the Parietal lobe can cause the following: difficulty in understanding words reading and writing, problems with movements especially co-ordination of movements, disorientation 
numbers and calculations, weakness on one side of the body.

Occipital lobe - Tumors in the Occipital lobe can cause the following: vision impairment especially on one side.

Temporal lobe - Tumors in the Temporal lobe can cause the following: Fits, strange feelings like fear or familiarity like dé jà vu, unusual smells, blackouts, difficulties with speech, memory problems.

Cerebellum - Tumors in the Cerebellum can cause the following: Co-ordination affecting walking and speech, unsteadiness, involuntary movement of the eyes - flickering, vomiting and nausea, neck stiffness.

Brain stem - Tumors in the Brain Stem can cause the following: Unsteadiness usually unstable walking, Facial weakness can be one-sided smile or eyelid that droops, vision issues usually double vision, speaking and swallowing difficulties.

The cause of primary brain tumors is unknown but there are many possible risk factors that could play a role. Exposure to some types of radiation, head injuries, and hormone replacement therapy may be risk factors, as well as many others. Secondary brain cancer occurs in 20–30% of patients with metastatic disease and incidence increases with age.Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are the treatment methodologies

Prevention and Cure:

1. Anti-convulsive such as phenytoin to reduce seizures.

2. Surgery is the usual treatment for most brain tumors. 

3. Support groups are beneficial in brain tumor. 

4. Radiation therapy usually is given five days a week for several weeks.

5. Corticosteroids such as dexamethasone to reduce brain swelling 

6. Osmotic diuretics such as urea or mannitol to reduce brain swelling and pressure.

Apart of this medications, the patient must be emotionally supported. 

Brain Tumor Treatment Centres:

In the US, about 180,000 women develop it each year.The disease can also occur in men, although cancer of the male breast accounts for less than 1 in 100 cases. The risk of it increases with age, doubling every 10 years.

The disease is most commonly diagnosed in women over age 50. Very few women under age 30 develop it. Despite the rise in incidence, there has been a small drop in the number of deaths in the recent years and only about one-fifth of cases prove fatal. This reduction is due to improvements in treatment and the increased use of mammography for screening, which means that tumors can be detected early, when they often respond well to treatment. For brain Tumor Treatment Centers please visit here