Learning Chiari from CSI: Las Vegas Season 10

Yesterday I watched CSI: Las Vegas season 10 which gave me special episode that has correlation with unique diseases or malfunction which I have not heard before. What is the malfunction called? It is called as Chiari malfunction or in the long description we can call this malfunction as Arnold-Chiari malformation. What is the malfunction means? It is a malformation of the brain, the center of neural system so it is very important to prevent any damage that could harm our brain. This malfunction consists of a downward displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum, sometimes causing hydrocephalus, head filled with too much liquid such as water,  as a result of obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) outflow. The cerebrospinal fluid outflow is caused by phase difference in outflow and influx of blood in the vascular of the brain. It is serious disease because it can cause many symptoms. This malfunction  can cause headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness in the head and face, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, nausea, impaired coordination, and, in severe cases, paralysis. In the movie I have watched, the victim is suddenly dead with too much liquid inside because he got dislocation in the neck after the race. After watching that movie I have got new information about this chiari malfunction so watching movie is not only for fun, in case of this, I can learn about new thing. How about you?

Alzheimer’s Disease as Nightmare

If you hear about Alzheimer, what will you think about? I am sure you will think about brain damage or something like that which makes you forget of everything because the brain is shrinking. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT) or simply Alzheimer’s, is the most common form of dementia. People who have this disease will be decreased in short memory in the beginning and will be end with end of all memories. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him. Because this is degenerative, we need to care the person who has this illness with the best caring system. Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier. In 2006, there were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.

Although the course of Alzheimer’s disease is unique for every individual, there are many common symptoms. The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be ‘age-related’ concerns, or manifestations of stress. In the early stages, the most commonly recognized symptom is inability to acquire new memories, such as difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. When a doctor or physician has been notified, and AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, often followed by a brain scan if available.

Tags: Alzheimer disease

What is Pompe Disease?

Have you heard about this disease before? Pompe  disease, also known as glycogen storage disease type II or acid maltase deficiency, is a rare genetic disorder that results in profound muscle weakness. For the people who are getting this disease, their muscles are not working properly like usual people. The disease is caused by mutations in the gene that instructs the body to make an enzyme called acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). Normally, the body uses this enzyme to break down glycogen (stored sugar) into glucose (sugar). But in Pompe disease, GAA is absent or significantly reduced, causing excessive amounts of glycogen to accumulate in the body’s tissues, which results in major damage. The heart and skeletal muscles are most affected. Pompe disease is an auto-somatic recessive condition — meaning that each parent of an affected individual must pass on a copy of the mutated gene. This is part of the reason that the disease is relatively rare, affecting one in 40,000 people. With the compare value, only small number of people who are affected with this disease. Glycogen normally stay in our muscles that is why when we lose glycogen in mass amount our muscle will not working as well as usual. It is very dangerous thing we always avoid.