Brain Trauma

Everyone knows that brain damage is not a matter to be taken lightly. In fact, it is arguably the most serious injury one can sustain. This is because brain trauma can affect a person’s brains ability to function in various ways.
A common type of head injury is from a simple and single hit to the head. It does not damage the brain with exposure and such. Typically, this type of injury is not particularly severe. However, in some instances it can be very dangerous. This would mean repetitive hits or a single very hard hit to the head. Injuries like this are normally partially due to the fact that the victim was not wearing a helmet and other such instances. These kind of injuries can cause concussions.
What happens after the trauma, however, is the interesting part. As you may have heard, neurons do not easily regenerate if at all. If the body of the brain cell is destroyed, the cell will not make a recovery. If the axon is damaged though, it can regenerate. So, if the cell body is damaged, it will not regenerate. This means decreased brain capabilities. Though a post trauma brain is normally operating at a lesser rate than prior to the injury, it can still regain its abilities. If too many cells are lost, the victim may suffer from a permanent loss of brain activity and ability.
It is a sad thing to see this happen to people. It is such an easy thing to prevent though. Simply wear a helmet and protect your head if you plan on doing something that puts your head at risk of impact.

Drugs and addictions

 

So today I am going talk about drugs. But not only about the drugs themselves. I am going to talk about the drugs and the problems they can cause. Specifically addictions.
From caffeine to cigarettes to even heroin. Drugs are out there and many people are affected by them. Some differently than others for various reasons. Some people are just prone to becoming addicted. It may be in their nature to get sucked into such things. Others may not be easily drawn into addiction, however some drugs are just so powerful they can break even the strongest person.
To start of on the topic of powerful drugs, let’s talk about opiates, including heroin. Opiates are naturally derived from a plant called opium poppy. Opiates are sometimes legally used, but also illegally used, for the purpose of reducing pain. As pain reduction is one effect, opiates can also calm someone down and relieve their worries of certain problems. Opiates are considered “downers” for this reason.
On the other end of the spectrum are stimulant drugs. Caffeine is a stimulant drug that is used by many people today. Another, less commonly used stimulant drug is cocaine. This class of drugs is known as stimulants because of their effect on mood and alertness. They can increase focus and energy, which is why caffeine is so popular in the mornings. Stimulants such as cocaine however, are misused and can be very damaging to someone, much like many of the opiates, due to their potential to cause crippling addictions.
With all this being said, there are good drugs and there are bad drugs. Drugs can be used to help with problems ranging from pain to illness. The problem comes when certain addictive drugs are misused. Some even used once can be enough to pull someone in. Addictive drugs are nothing to toy with and should not be seen as such. The video above shows a sad story of an addict.

C6H12O6

Have you ever heard of a no-carb diet? I know of some people who partake in such a practice. I would not, however. One reason being that sugars are carbs. Glucose is a sugar, and in fact, the only substance your brain can metabolize.
That leads me to the interesting topic of just how important glucose is to your body. It is actually very important to all vertebrate neurons. It provides them with almost all their energy. It is also suspected that glucose deprivation in children can cause issues in the development of their nervous system. Not only that, but glucose allows the testes to produce sperm. So without glucose, your body is being limited with it’s supply of important energy and material for many cells.
Now, the reason glucose is so important to your brain is not that the cells are incapable of digesting the sugar. It is actually due to the fact that glucose is one of the very few substances that can actually pass through the blood-brain barrier. A cell cannot metabolize what it is not presented with.
As I stated earlier in terms of the no-carb diets, I would not partake in that diet myself, however those who do are not doomed. The liver is able to produce glucose from substances such as carbohydrates (which ones on such diets would not be provided with) and amino acids. Many of those on such diets do take supplements including amino acids, so while the glucose may not be plentiful, it can be enough for one on a no carb diet.

Unfortunately, I did not find the best video on this topic but here is one.

I also found this website really cute and informative!
Enjoy and don't forget, glucose isn't always as horrible as people make it out to be. http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nutr.html