Cerebral Berry Aneurysm
Definition
A cerebral aneurysm is the swelling balloon-like structure of an artery of the brain when an arterial wall is weakened 1. Due to this weakness, the artery is unable to withstand the pressure of blood being pumped from the heart. The result is an aneurysm, which may rupture (causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage) 2. A saccular or berry aneurysm forms a sac-like pouch of blood attached to a stem of an artery or group of blood vessels, resembling a berry hanging from a branch 3.
Epidemiology
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), up to 300,000 people living in the United States experience a subarachnoid hemorrhage per year, while it is estimated that approximately 6% of Americans may be living with an unruptured aneurysm. Statistical analysis from the AANS has also revealed that incidence varies across the world, ranging from around 5.1 to 19.6 cases per 100,000 people. Leblanc (1997) concluded that the prevalence of cerebral aneurysms among families ranges from 5-28%, linking an underlying but no clear genetic factor to the condition.
Symptoms
Symptoms of an unruptured aneurysm include double vision, dilated pupils, pain surrounding the eye and newly unexplainable headaches, while a ruptured subarachnoid hemorrhage may include sudden and severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck and transient loss of consciousness or vision 4.
Treatment
Three main treatments are available, according to the AANS. Medical (non-surgical) therapy is used to treat an unruptured aneurysm, including working with a doctor to design lifestyle changes that will return the blood vessel(s) back to normal, as well as blood pressure control (if a patient suffers from high blood pressure) a...
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...alance, a numbness or tingling sensation in the limbs, personality changes or mood swings, memory problems, an inability to concentrate and/or weakness in one area of the body 10. These symptoms may be caused by a wide variety of other conditions or diseases, thus it is often difficult to self-diagnose upon experiencing any of the above symptoms.
Treatment
Surgical removal is the first choice upon proper identification and diagnosis of a brain tumor, however the location of the tumor within the brain may not always allow for easy removal through surgery. In these cases, chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be used to kill off cancer cells in inaccessible regions of the brain. Because the latter two options may cause debilitating side effects in other tissues, rehabilitation may be required post-treatment for a patient to regain healthy bodily functions again 10.
Mr. Fix-it is a 59 year old man with a history of alcohol abuse and diabetic hypertension. Mr. Fix-it has been currently experiencing symptoms such as: rambling speech, poor short-term memory, weakness on the left side of his body, neglects both visual and auditory stimuli to his left side, difficulty with rapid visual scanning, difficulty with complex visual, perceptual and constructional tasks, unable to recall nonverbal materials, and mild articulatory problems. The diagnosis for Mr. Fix-it’s problem is most likely a right-hemisphere stroke. A right-hemisphere stroke is occurs when a blood clot blocks a vessel in the brain, or when there is a torn vessel bleeding into the brain. “A right-hemisphere stroke is common in adults who have diabetes and who are over the age of 55”, similar to Mr. Fix-it (Kluwer, 2012). In addition, Mr. Fix-it has a history of alcohol abuse in which it could have also increased his chances of experiencing a right-hemisphere stroke.
The most common symptoms for GBM are headache, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness, all caused by increased pressure in the brain. (1)
On February 11, 2014, a 64 year old female began having tingling and numbness in her right side and face, she notified family and they called 911 to dispatch an ambulance to her home. The ambulance transported her to Ellis Medicine’s emergency room on Nott Street in Schenectady. In the emergency room her main complaints and symptoms were right-side weakness, headache, nausea, and decreased level of consciousness. The symptoms were consistent with signs and symptoms of a stroke. A CAT scan and MRI show a left-sided cerebral hemorrhage. The Neuroscience team diagnosed her with Amyloid Angiopathy, a genetic disorder that causes protein to deposit on the walls of blood vessels in the brain. Deposits cause the blood vessel walls to break and crack. Blood leaks into the brain causing damage and hemorrhagic stroke (Angiopathy, 2013).
The effects include paralysis of a limb or one side of the body and disturbances of speech and vision. The nature and extent of damage depends on the size and location of the affected blood vessels. The main causes are cerebral infarction (approx. 85%) and spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (15%) (Waugh & Grant, 2010).
A cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an irregular connection of arteries and veins within the brain that has no definite cause; many do not experience symptoms (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). However, some patients experience headaches and seizures (Starke et al., 2009). The main risk of an AVM is hemorrhage, and patients with AVMs will always have some risk of hemorrhage (Ogilvy et al., 2001); According to Ogilvy et al (2001), more than 50% of AVMs lead to cerebral hemorrhage. The severity of the AVM will determine whether the condition should be treated and how it should be treated. Although treatment of AVMs in the brain attempts to maximize quality of life as well as eliminate cerebral hemorrhage risk, pre-treatment consideration of benefits and risks is essential.
A subarachnoid hemorrhage stroke is caused by bleeding in the space between the brain and the skull. When blood is released into this space, there is an increase in pressure on the brain. Clotted blood, as a result of the bleed, can force the brain against the skull and cause it to shift and herniate. This cascade of events causes normal cerebral spinal fluid to be blocked causing dilation of ventricles.
Strokes are not only the leading cause of mentally disabling adults, but they are also the third most common reason for deaths worldwide (Jarvis, 2012). In general, a stroke, also called a “cerebrovascular accident,” occurs when blood flow of the vascular system is blocked from reaching parts of the brain (Jarvis, 2012). There are two types of stroke, an ischemic stroke or a hemorrhagic stroke, and they differ in the way they affect the vascular system. An ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, accounting for 80 percent of all strokes, and it is due to a thrombus or embolus blocking blood vessels supplying the brain (Durukan & Tatlisumak, 2007). A hemorrhagic stroke is less common, but is caused by the rupturing of a blood vessel in the brain and causes bleeding (Jarvis, 2012).
Cerebrovascular disease or the term stroke is used to describe the effects of an interruption of the blood supply to a localised area of the brain. It is characterized by rapid focal or global impairment of cerebral function lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death (Hatano, 1976). As such it is a clinically defined syndrome and should not be regarded as a single disease. Stroke affects 174-216 people per 10,000 population in the UK per year and accounts for 11% of all deaths in England and Wales (Mant et al, 2004). The risk of recurrent stroke within 5 years is between 30-43%. One problem is that the incidence of stroke rises steeply with age and the number of elderly people in the UK is on the increase. To date people who experience a stroke occupy around 20 per cent of all acute hospital beds and 25 per cent of long term beds (Stroke Association, 2004). The British Government now identifies stroke as a major economic burden on the National Health Service (DoH, 2002).
... the history given by him, he did not lose conscious at all. He sustained a 2cm cut on the temporal area of his head. He felt fine after that and continued his cycle home when he felt a sudden headache and started to feel nauseous.
The other type of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke. This occurs when a blood vessel ruptures and blood is spilled into the brain tissue. High blood pressure is the most common cause for this type of blood vessel rupture although aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations are other causes as well. According to Webmed.com, “Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases a person’s stroke risk by four to six times.” Having a stroke is more common in adults, although it can happen to anyone at anytime, including children. Strokes are the leading cause of adult disability and the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. (Stroke.org). Up to 80% of strokes can be prevented by lowering blood pressure, losing weight, exercise, and not smoking. Some non-modifiable risk factors include advanced age (older than 55 years), gender (male), and race (African American). Treatment differs depending on the type of stroke. A person is affected differently depending on the location of the stroke and how much damage has occurred. People with minor strokes mainly have minor problems such as temporary weakness in the arm or
Equally, symptoms for instance, confusion, weakness, inconvenience seeing in both eyes, and loss of balance, are normal changes connected with aging (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015). However, there are various sever manifestations demonstrating a person may have a stroke and should be hospitalized promptly for treatment. Subsequently, such side-effects include: trouble with speaking and comprehension of speech, sudden paralysis or numbness on one side of the body, blurred, blackened, or double vision in one eye, and lastly, extreme headaches joined by vomiting, dizziness and altered cognizance are all warning signs of this disease (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Seeing that, it is clear there are some very ordinary aging changes in contrast with the symptom of Cerebrovascular Accident. Therefore, everyone should be aware of the signs of stroke and know how to act fast, so as to counteract permanent disability and even death from this
Neil. (2003, October 1). Triple-H therapy in the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. The Lancet Neurology, 2(10), 614-620. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(03)00531-3
What is a brain aneurysm? One could define a brain aneurysm as bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Over time, weak areas in the walls bulge out causing the blood vessel walls to become weaker as the aneurysm grows (Simon). In most human beings, a brain aneurysm can go undetected for years even possibly ones entire life. Some people however are not so lucky, in some instances, the aneurysm can rupture or explode, causing a hemorrhagic stroke, which is known as the type of stroke that causes bleeding in the brain. It is a known fact that approximately 8% of all strokes occuring world wide, are caused from the rupturing of brain aneurysms. Those are the unlucky people, fortunately, about 94% of all brain aneurysms do not rupture at all, and people are able to live their lives normally, just of course being careful not to do anything to severely damage their head (Nisacara).
The less common but more deadly of the two strokes is called a hemorrhagic stroke. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when an artery in the brain leaks or bursts (2). These strokes can be broken down into two major types: cerebral and subarachnoid. A cerebral hemorrhage is when one of the cerebral arteries ruptures in the brain. A subarcachnoid hemorrhage is when the brain's surface ves...
I realized it was a stroke,” –Fred, a stroke survivor. Some of the most common symptoms indicating that a stroke is occurring include sudden numbness or loss of movement in the limbs on one side of your body or face, sudden vision changes, sudden trouble speaking, sudden confusion, a very intense headache, or sudden balance issues. Stroke is simply acquired when the blood supply to the brain is suspended, but to get to the roots of what causes it, a stroke is triggered by the slowly forming plaque buildup over time. The plaque is made up of calcium, fat, cholesterol, cellular waste, and fibrin, a material involved in blood clotting. The plaque existing in an artery can grow big enough to block the supply of blood to the brain, resulting in a stroke. A stroke can also be caused by high blood pressure breaking a blood vessel in the brain causing internal bleeding. Although there is no cure, as damage the brain is usually irreversible if not cared for quickly; there are different treatments available for both types of stroke. For an ischemic stroke, a tissue called plasminogen activator can be injected into an artery to break up