Diseases and Drugs

         The brain has always been one of the most intriguing organs in the human body to me.  I find its complexity and effect on the body to be very interesting.  The brain has different specialized parts and lobes that help to control different things like memory, personality, and body function.  Many brain injuries and health concerns are not fully understood, making them harder to treat and cure.  These injuries and health concerns can have a large impact on the body’s Ayurveda and overall health.

            As a healthcare worker, I have many clients that are affected from brain related diseases and disorders.  One of my clients has multiple sclerosis.  Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord.  Essentially, the immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers and causes communicative problems between the brain and rest of the body.  This particular client was diagnosed with the disease when he was 32 and has progressively gotten worse as he has aged.  He stated that his earlier symptoms were that he had weakness in his legs.  As he aged, he has had a lot of difficulty moving and can no longer get up on his own.  He uses a motorized wheelchair to move and to complete his activities of daily living. 

            Something that I found interesting through my research was the world distribution of multiple sclerosis and how some countries were higher risk than others.  This was interesting to me because the exact cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown.  Researchers have found that age, genetics, and other autoimmune conditions play a role in possible causes for multiple sclerosis.  Although the exact cause is unknown, β-interferon appears helpful in preventing relapse and helps to delay the progression of multiple sclerosis, helping those affected by this disease.

            Another common disease associated with the brain is Alzheimer’s disease.  Alzheimer’s disease is not very well understood in what causes it, making it difficult to treat.  Researchers do know that there is heritability within the disease.  Most AD patients show plaques in certain regions of their brain that display cell loss.  Research has brought drug treatment for those with Alzheimer’s disease but has no cure for the brain related problem.  Many clients I see as a certified nurse’s assistant have AD and reside in the memory care unit in the assisted living homes.  It is educating and sad to see this disease take a toll on the memory and life of these individuals.

            In a research paper relating to Alzheimer’s disease and the secretion of notch and notch signaling, Okochi et al. found that multiple Alzheimer’s disease mutants also cause an increase in the secretion of a specific form of Nβ (secreted during Notch signaling).  This study could lead to more research concerning regulated intramembrane proteolysis signaling like Notch.  When regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) is better understood, medicine and treatment regarding Alzheimer’s and diseases concerning the RIP pathway could also become improved.  Development with better treatment and a cure could come if RIP and Notch pathway mechanisms were understood better.

            Something else I found fascinating when researching brain related injuries was traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and the personality changes these injuries had on the individual.  I just completed Abnormal Psychology and we briefly learned about the impact that TBI has on personality changes.  The story that I found most fascinating was about Phineas P. Gage.  When I first heard this story, I thought that he would have died, but he almost had a complete physical recovery after the accident.  What changed dramatically was his personality.  TBI can produce a diminished state of consciousness and can result in impaired cognitive abilities like seen in Phineas Gage.  In a paper from The American Journal of Sports Medicine, they discuss the outcomes after sports-related concussions.  Something that caught my attention was that the rate of same-season repeat was relatively low.  I expected it to be much higher than what was found in the study. 

            Along with different diseases, drugs have a major impact on the brain, its development, and overall health.  Broadly speaking, drugs interfere with the brain’s neurons and how they receive and send signals.  They also affect the processing of these specific signals.  This occurs via neurotransmitters.  This happens when the specific drug attaches to the neurotransmitter, activating the coordinating neuron.  These drugs mimic the chemical signals in the brain, but they do not activate the neuron in the same way that it naturally would.  This causes irregularities in the messages that are sent to the brain, causing problems in the brain, its development, and the body’s overall health.

            Something that I found interesting was the research involving prescription drugs and prescription drug abuse.  Some legal prescription drugs can block pathways in the brain, while others are able to help specific pathways function more efficiently.  Prescription drug abuse is very common, especially among teenagers and college students.  In Abnormal Psychology, we talked about how Utah is always one of the highest states for prescription drug abuse over all other states.  We discussed how many abusers ‘doctor shop’ so they are able to get multiple prescriptions filled.  While prescription drugs can be a good thing if used as prescribed, some may argue that through this you are still altering the function of the brain and this leads to the misuse of the drug.  The complexity of the brain makes it difficult to fully understand the affects of these drugs, used prescribed or using through abuse.

            In a review titled, “Ayurveda and natural products drug discovery”, the authors looked at the discovery and development of medicine and its role on Ayurveda.  They discussed how combining the knowledge that has been obtained through science and research and an Ayurveda approach will allow for new functionalities like reduced time, money, and toxicity put into drug development.  This article brought on a new perspective of combining both Ayurveda and modern science to allow for a better approach to drug medicine and research.  This could improve the overall quality and health of the brain for those that are using the specific drug for health purposes like treating brain related diseases.

            Learning about the functions of the brain, the disorders and diseases associated, and the effects of drugs, has always held my interest.  Taking a deeper dive into the affects, causes, and treatments of these diseases and disorders has helped to broaden and deepen my understanding of them and their complexity.  A research paper titled, “Mind, Brain, and Personality Disorders” helped me to understand that each disorder and disability is unique and needs to be treated as such.  They stated that terms like the “mind” and “brain” are associated with a set of polarities, which holds truth, but I had never thought of it like that before.  All of this has helped me to understand the complexities behind certain brain disorders and diseases and the effect of drugs on the brain.