Marvel Brain and its Dysfunctions

Brain – the Master of our body always remains a mystery and seems to be extraordinarily complex. Even though, it is given the top position, top security and top priority in care and performance, it is not easily understood. Unlike other organs, its functions cannot be visualised, but only can be felt through its actions or noted through EEG (Electro encephalo graphy). Millions and millions of nerves are engaged in our body maintenance. All their virtual functions are invaluable. Brain works, controls and cares for each and every activity of our body, i.e., it schedules our tasks, plans and implements the action that is required; aims our life / future, colours our dreams, analyses maintenance, relaxes mind and body to lead life comfortably. So, any disease of the brain will usually disable or cause the collapse of life itself.

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Brain and its development – Brain develops from the embryonic tissue called Ectoderm. Its development can be seen as neural groove after two weeks of pregnancy. It gets transformed to Neural tube after three weeks. The front part of Neural tube forms the brain (encephalisation) in three divisions i.e., as Prosencephalon- fore brain, Mesencephalon – mid brain, Rhombencephalon – hind brain. During birth, the brain weighs only about 250 gms to 300 gms. It also grows with age. So, good growth with good nutrition, good sleep and good exercise are thus essential to have a good brain. Before adolescence or teenage, it grows and reaches adult size brain. Adult brain weighs about 1.25 kg to 1.5 kg.

Brain functions seem to be moulded with habits and training. Brain gives us personality, behaviour, emotions, language, education and employment. It automatically backs up all our experiences in memory and guides us in future to tackle every task. Brain works for breathing and digestion too. Also, it is the responsible organ for movements. Simply to say, what ever the action we do - it is a successful signal of brain impulses transferred to the part through nerves. 

Medical advancement comforts our life and provides us measures to reduce all sorts of pain and discomfort by every means. Anaesthesia is one among them, where brain functions are made to shut down to mask consciousness, feelings and functions to perform surgery. But no one can outweigh the risk of providing anaesthesia, since brain can get damaged at any time even with recommended dosage and time. Likewise, even though science and advancement (with computers, calculators, calendars, schedulers, etc) help us in every way to confront life with relaxed brain, tension and frenzied world make man work overtime, discarding sleep and disturbing the biological clock leading one to poor brain function / dysfunction. Every one should be aware that brain also needs some rest and exercise.

Brain Dysfunctions or Disorders –It may be a painful suffering or painless suffering. Likewise, it may be due to hyper activeness or hypo activeness. It can arise in different planes. 

• Mental plane – dizziness, drowsiness, lack of concentration, loss of memory, lack of intelligence, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimers disease

• Physical plane – Paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, ageing atrophy of brain, 

• Functional plane – simple tiredness, sleepiness, sleeplessness, coma, paresis, epilepsy / seizure / fits, migraine, bed wetting.

Causes for Brain Dysfunctions or disorders – Most often causes will be idiopathic. Commonly problems occur when there is lack of oxygen and nutrition or nutrients. Medical science has identified innumerable causes for the occurrence of brain disorders or dysfunctions. They are 

• Hereditary or by birth – Chromosomal abnormalities, Autism, genetic predisposition, asphyxia developed during delivery due to delay in conducting delivery or cord around the neck

• Physiological or Neurological – Sleeplessness, overtime work, poor nutrition, poor growth, alcohol, sexual excesses, heat stroke.

• Psychological – Mental trauma shock, fear, upset, anxiety, tension, depression, conflicts, anger, loss, loneliness.

• Pathological – High fever, viral or bacterial infections (meningitis or encephalitis), Ischaemia, High blood pressure, Increased ventricular pressure, High sugar levels, Metabolic disorders, Brain tumours, Neurofibroma, Parasite infections.

• Injury / Trauma – Head injury from hit or during play, surgical procedures to remove tumours or clots, forceps delivery.

• Drug induced – Brain disorders can also arise as a drug reaction during development (pregnancy period) or from drug dependency (epilepsy or migraine) or from drug withdrawal which was held suddenly after developed drug dependency (epilepsy or migraine). 

Generally in case of

• Childhood – genetic predisposition, chromosomal abnormality, high fever, head injury, forceps delivery, asphyxia during delivery, bacterial or viral encephalitis, parasite infection, come as common causes.

• Adult – Alcohol, hypertension, diabetes, renal failure, brain tumours, stroke, sleeplessness, metabolic disorders, head injury, meningitis, encephalitis, high fever, parasite infection, sclerosis, ageing atrophy, degenerative disorders. come as common causes.

Symptoms - Normally brain problems cage living or life. The symptoms of brain problems usually differ from person to person in intensity according to the place of origin of illness, type and nature of progress of the complaint. Sensitiveness, mood swings, dullness, loss of appetite, restlessness and weakness will be commonly present in all kinds of brain complaints. 

Triggers and aggravating factors – a small spark can provoke fire. Triggers for brain dysfunctions or disorders may be a minor or major factor and will differ from person to person. There are countless triggers. Common triggers are high fever, hot sunlight, high pitched noise, bright flashing lights, change in time factor (jet lag), stress, sleeplessness, hunger, alcohol, lower sugar level, drugs. 

Caring Brain
Care with sleep – Brain works day and night, i.e., it works even during sleep. By this time, it makes arrangements to resolve or set everything right to start or function next day in perfect manner, i.e., just like maintenance or recharging. To enable the recharge or maintenance, Brain also needs rest. So sleep is very essential for it. Deprivation of sleep often results in psychological or physical complaints (weakness or weight loss). In case of sleeplessness, one can feel drowsiness and lack of concentration, causing a person to act as if intoxicated. When there is continuous sleep deprivation, it may lead to hallucination and mood swings. In the case of children, lack of good sleep will affect the release of growth hormones which again give impact of growth of body and brain.

Infants usually sleep for longer duration – about 15-16 hours / day. Children sleep about 12 hours / day. Adults commonly need sleep for about 7- 9 hours / day, but now-a-days, people work extra hours and sleep only 5-7 hours / day. Here, the actual need of sleeping hours depends on the habit development (i.e., habit of every day’s sleeping time). Aged persons again need more sleep i.e., for about 12 hours / day. In case of worries or any complaints, they may have sleeplessness. Here due to sleeplessness, they commonly suffer from lack of concentration or memory loss. 

Care with food - to have energetic brain

Take 

• Plenty of vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains, nuts, beans, milk, dairy products, eggs, fish, fish oils, meat, to have energetic brain

Avoid

• Caffeine, Alcohol, high quantity of sugar or pastry foods, high quantity of white flour

Care with habits and training - Take care of your head and thus brain 

• Wear helmets while riding or when situation calls for it

• Never allow worries or tension to bombard your brain constantly

• Take proper rest with good sleep

• Do physical as well as mental exercises regularly

Treatment – For the brain dysfunctions or disorders, treatment should be availed of as early as possible, since any delay can result in the case becoming incurable. Here everyone needs to accept the facts – controllable / curable depending upon the cases as treating any brain dysfunction is a very complicated procedure. Also treatment should be monitored properly, so that development of depression or embarrassment can be minimized. In case of tumours, excision can be opted to have notable recovery immediately (if it safe and easy procedure), otherwise it is better to depend on drugs what ever may be the system (life long). 

Modern system of medicines claims that many of the brain problems cannot be cured altogether with medicines but can be maintained well with medicines (for example – migraine, epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease). Also, commonly used allopathic drugs for brain dysfunctions creates a habit-forming tendency and has side effects depending upon the period of use, age of person and dosage. Here one needs to weigh the suffering of disease and drug reaction and the need to outweigh the major suffering. In brain treatment, other than proper treatment, taking b/rain booster or anti oxidants just as supporters have no clinical values. 

In Homeopathy, understanding patient in-depth with detailed case study, by analyzing them constitutionally and giving more importance to their feelings, homeopathy can provide hope to the sufferer. More validly selected homeopathic medicine can provide stamina to brain to remain endurant. Homeopathy can provide good relief (in incurable cases - where cure is not possible) and bring them even to near normal state with out any side effects.

In homeopathy, the response will be quick and good in persons who opt for homeopathy treatment at the startup itself and the response will be slow in persons who came to homeopathy treatment late with dependence on allopathic drugs. Those people who depend on allopathic drugs should not stop them all of a sudden, since if they happen to do so, they would meet up again with complaints. Medicines used for brain dysfunctions should be tapered off in slow manner (i.e. first, they should increase the duration between medications then, they should reduce the dosage levels slowly to get it stopped) after feeling better with homeopathic medicines. Here, one need not worry about going in for two systems of medicines simultaneously, since there won’t be any side effects or interaction.