What causes stroke in the Human Brain - Assignment Example

Stoke and its Primary causes Summary of Bevan S., and Markus H. The Genetics of Stroke The review article by Bevan S. and Markus H on the genetics of stroke attempts to identify and explain what exactly stroke is. It points out that stroke is essentially not a disease and goes on to explain that stroke can generally be described as being any of the syndromes that as a result of a disruption of cerebral blood flow, results in cerebral damage. The article is also seen to be keen to attempt and identify the genetics involved in stroke and lists some genetic causes of stroke as variously including CADASIL, CARASIL, Marfan Syndrome, sickle cell disease and Marfan syndrome as being one of the prime causes of stroke. Genetics One of the primary genetic causes of stroke has been shown to be CADASIL which tends to display a number of familial inheritance patterns in which the primary responsible gene has usually been identified. According to Bevan and Markus (1), CADASIL is usually seen to present with at least one of four given manifestations that include, cognitive deficit, Lacunar stroke and TIA, migraine with aura or even psychiatric disturbance in the form of a depression that is seen to precede the onset of an estimated 30% of stroke cases. CADASIL has been attributed to be primarily due to the occurrence of highly stereotyped mutations occurring in the Notch3 gene. These mutations that are seen to lead to CADASIL subsequently disrupt the highly conserved cysteine residue converting the number of these residues that normally stands at 6 to an odd number. This phenotype has been found to be variably present within certain given families. Summary of the Stroke.Org. UK Website The Stroke.UK organization website is essentially a Stroke Association website that is developed to aid in the provision of support to the various stroke survivors. It is designed in such a manner that various professionals and charity group organizations are able to use it to provide support to stroke survivors so as to aid them in making the very best recovery that they possibly can. The website provides key information that is seen to essentially be quite useful to individuals in aiding them in obtaining more information on stroke. The organization also has an estimated over 20 years of research on stroke and has contributed to the development of a number of research review papers published in different journals. High Blood Pressure The United Kingdom Stroke Association is seen to point out that having a high blood pressure is perceived to be the biggest cause of stroke for not only the older adults but also the younger persons as an estimated 30 percent of individuals aged below 50 that have had a stroke are shown to also have a generally high blood pressure (Strokeassocation 1). The use of combined oral contraceptive pills is identified as being among the many factors that might potentially result in high blood pressure. These pills have been seen to cause the blood to become more likely to clot and thus significantly increase the risk of one developing high blood pressure. It is generally recommended that women that happen to have a number of other stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure or smoking should try and avoid the use of these pills (Strokeassocation 3). Summary of Tuomilehto J. et al. Article The peer reviewed article by Tuomilehto Diabetes Mellitus as a Risk Factor for Death From Stroke. is a research paper that provides crucial information on the link between the increased stroke and hypertension risk of individuals seen to be having diabetes mellitus. The objective of the study conducted in the article was to attempt to study and perform a critical assessment of the invariably independent effect of diabetes as a key risk factor for stroke. The study which was conducted in Eastern Finland over a follow up period spanning at an average follow up period of about 16.4 years involved about 8572 women and 8077 men. Summary of Lewis Kuller Stroke and Diabetes Article The article by Kuller is a journal article that has been citied in an estimated 60 different related article. In the article Kuller is seen to review the prevalence of the stroke related deaths within the United States and other countries and observed that this has been noted to have been gradually decreasing over a time period spanning the past 40-50 years. Among the factors identified by Kuller as resulting in stroke include not only diabetes but also one having rather high cholesterol levels as well as cigarette smoking. The research by Kuller examines stroke in the United States population across different age groups, ages, gender and diabetes status. Diabetes Research conducted by Tuomilehto, et al., (1) established that Diabetes Mellitus is fundamentally the strongest risk that can essentially cause death from stroke among not only the men but also the women in the multivariate and univariate analysis conducted by the research. Tuomilehto et al. (1) further points out that men that happen to have diabetes at the baseline are generally seen to have an increased sixfold death risk from stroke. According to Tuomilehto, an estimated more than one fifth of all the stroke deaths across the different populations are fundamentally attributed to diabetes and this is seen to be mostly seen in more women as compared to men. The relationship between stroke and diabetes is further affirmed by Kuller (449), who points out that diabetes can generally be perceived to be a rather important cause of stroke. According to Kuller, a large number of stroke patients happen to have variable cases of undetected diabetes at the time of stroke and stroke treatment has been known in most cases to detect this diabetes (Kuller 450). In a NHIS diabetes supplement in 1989, an estimated 9.3% of all the different individuals that happened to report incidences of diabetes that had been diagnosed by physicians were also seen to report a general medical history of stroke, this prevalence was seen to stand at a low of 2.0% for all individuals aged at about 18-44 years and a high of 12.7% for persons aged at about 65 years or older (Kuller 450). Summary of Kronzon and Tunick’s Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine Journal Article Having been citied in an estimated 870 related journal article, this article by Kronzon and Tunick can be perceived to be a widely popular journal article. The article attempts to examine the existing relationship between atherosclerotic disease and the possibility of one developing a stroke. In the article, Kronzon and Tunick outline a number of various medical developments pertaining to stroke from the 1940s through to the 1990s. The article points out that in recent times; atherosclerosis has increasingly come to be attributed to the risk of stroke and accounts for an estimated 14% to 21% of the reported stroke cases. Review of the United States, HLBI Website This website is essentially a government website under the country’s Health and Human Services Department. The website provides credible information on a large number of medical conditions and symptoms and has a number of links to highly credible peer reviewed journal articles and research papers. It provides information on what exactly is atherosclerosis and points out that it is essentially a condition whereby plaque builds up inside an individual’s arteries. The site provides information on a number of possible conditions that can be precipitated by atherosclerosis ranging from coronary heart disease to chronic kidney disease and peripheral artery disease. It also points out that the condition can also result in carotid artery disease that is seen to affect the arteries positioned on each side of the neck. These are essentially seen to primarily serve in the general supply of oxygenated blood to an individual’s brain and any blockages or reduced blood flow might potentially result in a stroke. Atherosclerosis Kronzon and Tunick (63-75) highlight that heavily severe atherosclerotic plaques primarily developed in the aortic arch were recognized in 1990 as being the third leading cause of embolic stroke. Kronzon and Tunick (63-75) argue that the presence of proximal aortic plaque and especially so in the aortic arch, has essentially been established as being an important cause of stroke in patients. They however point out that it is rather disappointing that after an estimated over 15 years since this particular syndrome was first described, there has however been no significant development in the treatment of patients that happen to have this disorder. This view is supported by information from the nih (2013) that points out that atherosclerosis can lead to a number of serious problems that are seen to include stroke, heart attack or at times even death. According to nih (2013), the accumulated plaque that results in atherosclerosis is primarily comprised of calcium, fat, cholesterol as well as some of the other substances that might happen to be found in the blood. These are seen to progressively harden and consequently harden the arteries which leads to a sever limitation of the flow of the required oxygenated blood to the organs such as the brain. Works Cited Bevan S. and Markus H. 2004 The genetics of stroke. ACNR 4, 8–11. Kronzon, Tunick, PA Aortic atherosclerotic disease and stroke.Circulation 2006;114,63-75. [PubMed] Kuller, Lewis. Stroke and Diabetes. Retrieved on Sept 26, 2013 from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/america/pdf/chapter20.pdf nih, What Is Atherosclerosis?. Retreived on Sept 26, 2013, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/atherosclerosis/ Strokeassociation. 2012. Stroke in younger adults. Retrieved on Sept 26, 2013 from http://www.stroke.org.uk/sites/default/files/Stroke%20in%20younger%20adults.pdf Tuomilehto J. et al. Diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for death from stroke. Stroke.1996;27:210-215. Read More