Amongst the vital organ of the body the brain is one of the most complex organ which holds 14,000 million cells (neurons). There are sites for controlling movement, and for taking data from each of the sites: and others for analyzing this data and making our basic judgment from it.

Some of the serious brain diseases are associated with old age, but may occur earlier. Those afflicted feel restless and emotional, are inclined to wander at night, and complains of headaches, giddiness, and momentary blackouts. Memory may fail and strong personality traits become exaggerated. These symptoms fluctuate. The most dreaded medical condition affecting the brain is stroke. A stroke results from failure of the blood supply to part of the brain. This may be due to a thrombosis or embolism, or to a hemorrhage in the brain from a reputed blood vessel. Infarction (death) part of the brain may occur. Other dreaded diseases of the brain include Arteriosclerosis, Psychosis and Thrombosis.

In a way we can say that the brain is one of the ‘troikas’ of the controlling organs of the body, along with the heart and lungs. Our cover story this week is on “Brain Diseases”, about which all our readers should
know and information on them disseminated to all communities, urban and rural, by the health professionals.

Diseases of the brain, as told earlier affect the brain, the spine and nerves. As such we have tried to include some valuable inputs from specialists and other professionals. We have included various other articles and information in this issue other than diseases and we believe these will enlighten our lay readers.