NSAIDs and Brain Protection - Report Example

Aiyagari and Gorelick (2010) pointed out that the causes of the reduction or the interruption of the blood flow reaching the brain can arise from the blockage of an artery. That condition is referred to as an ischemic stroke; the burst or leak of a blood vessel leads to the rechanneling of blood away from the brain. The second form of stroke is called a hemorrhagic stroke. In other cases, some individuals experience a periodic disruption of the blood supply heading to the brain, leading to the symptoms of a stroke; this form of stroke is called a TIA (transient ischemic attack) (Aiyagari and Gorelick, 2010). About 85% of the stroke cases suffered are ischemic, and these strokes take place after the blood vessels (arteries) that channel blood to the brain are blocked or get narrowed, triggering a reduction in the blood supply reaching the brain. The severe reduction in the amount of blood reaching the brain is called ischemia.

There is a wide array of ischemic strokes, and the cases for the different types are also varied (Donnan et al., 2008). The most common type of ischemic stroke is a thrombotic stroke, and it occurs after a thrombus (blood clot) forms inside any of the arteries that channel blood to the brain. These clots form from fatty deposits called plaque; the accumulation of this substance can also accumulate inside arteries, leading to atherosclerosis, among other arterial conditions (Aiyagari and Gorelick, 2010).

The second type of ischemic stroke is an embolic stroke, it occurs after a blood clot or other solid matter forms in other organs, particularly the heart, and then flows with blood to the arteries of the brain, which are narrower, and sticks there. In the case of a hemorrhagic stroke, the cause of the stroke is the rapture or the aneurysms in the blood vessels of the brain. The raptures or leaks can result from a variety of conditions, including aneurysms (weakness of blood vessels) or hypertension (uninhibited blood pressure) (Aiyagari and Gorelick, 2010). The second and less common cause of hemorrhage results from the rapture of an unusual twist at a malformed section of blood vessels, making it thin-walled (Donnan et al., 2008).