What causes brain atrophy?

1. Genetic factors: Many studies at home and abroad have shown that most neurological diseases such as brain atrophy and Alzheimer's disease are related to genetic factors. These cases are more likely to occur in the elderly population, and after a long period of investigation and research, data support has been continuously obtained. Cases with a family history of brain atrophy have a higher incidence rate than normal people. Therefore, for these patients, genetic counseling and necessary life intervention are needed to reduce the risk of disease.

2. Brain trauma: Brain trauma is one of the important causes of brain atrophy. Severe brain trauma may cause serious damage to brain tissue, causing congestion, edema, and loss of local brain cells, leading to brain atrophy. In addition, some patients may also suffer damage to local brain tissue due to improper surgical treatment, such as craniotomy, thereby increasing the risk of brain atrophy. Therefore, patients with brain trauma need to pay attention to rehabilitation training after treatment to promote the recovery of brain function.

3. Cerebrovascular disease: Cerebrovascular disease is one of the common causes of brain atrophy. Cerebrovascular disease may lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain tissue, causing ischemia and hypoxia in the local brain tissue, which in turn leads to brain atrophy. Common cerebrovascular diseases include cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. These cases need to be actively treated for different diseases to reduce the risk of brain atrophy.

4. Malnutrition: Malnutrition is also one of the causes of brain atrophy. Due to the lack of necessary nutrients and trace elements, such as vitamin B1, B12, etc., nerve cells may not metabolize and function normally, leading to brain atrophy. Therefore, in daily life, you need to pay attention to a reasonable diet and ensure balanced nutrition to reduce the risk of disease.

5. Endocrine disorders: Endocrine disorders are also one of the causes of brain atrophy. Since the endocrine system is closely related to the nervous system, endocrine disorders may cause damage or apoptosis of nerve cells, leading to brain atrophy. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the balance of the endocrine system in daily life to reduce the risk of disease.

6. Normal pressure hydrocephalus: Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a group of diseases with communicating hydrocephalus or normal pressure hydrocephalus as the main clinical manifestations due to intracranial venous circulation disorders, ventricular choroid plexus inflammation, hemorrhage and tumors. The cognitive function of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus is progressively declining. Lumbar puncture CSF examination shows that the lumbar puncture pressure is normal or slightly increased (90-180mmH2O), and the CSF shows changes of communicating hydrocephalus. Studies have shown that dementia caused by normal pressure hydrocephalus is one of the most common complications of communicating hydrocephalus.

7. Chronic subdural hematoma: Chronic subdural hematoma is a subacute or chronic intracranial hematoma, accounting for 1.4% of all intracranial hematomas. It mainly occurs in the elderly population, with an insidious onset and easy to misdiagnose. The disease can cause symptoms such as progressive intellectual decline, slow reaction and memory loss in the elderly, which are similar to the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, and often manifest as varying degrees of intellectual impairment and focal neurological deficits. The average survival time of elderly patients with chronic subdural hematoma complicated with obvious dementia after surgery and clinical diagnosis is only about 2 to 3 years.

8. Brain tumors: Various tumors in the brain may cause intracranial space-occupying lesions, leading to chronic increase in intracranial pressure, thus causing brain atrophy or even degeneration and necrosis, leading to the occurrence of dementia. Primary intracranial tumors such as gliomas, pituitary tumors, acoustic neuromas, craniopharyngiomas, etc. can cause damage to the nervous system and cognitive impairment, which are similar to the symptoms of vascular dementia and misdiagnosed; secondary intracranial tumors such as metastatic tumors of lung cancer can directly infiltrate and destroy brain tissue, leading to intracranial hypertension and neurological dysfunction, which are manifested as manifestations similar to those of Alzheimer's disease and signs and clinical symptoms such as impaired consciousness, which are difficult to distinguish from vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease, resulting in misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis, delaying the disease, causing serious damage to patients, affecting their quality of life and prognosis of death.

Chen Jie