Dr. Shuchit Pandey

It is the common belief that alcohol consumption is a social menace and is injurious to health. It takes a toll on the health care costs of our country. Many organs like the liver, kidney, heart, and brain are affected by people who are addicted to alcohol. However, it has been proven that alcohol consumption in minor amounts can have beneficial effects on the human body including the heart.

The side effects depend on a number of factors listed below :

• Type of alcohol consumption (social or habitual drinker)
• Amount of alcohol consumed
• Frequency of drinking
• Age, gender, and genetic predisposition of the person to develop alcohol-related diseases
• Family history of alcoholism and its related diseases
• Age at which the person started drinking
• The number of years that a person has been consuming alcohol
• Overall health condition of the person
• Exposure to alcohol as a fetus

Like the adage goes, anything in excess is bad. It is not necessary that a habitual or social drinker who consumes a drink or two per week would end up with these issues. In fact, if recent studies are to be believed, mild to moderate intake of alcohol does have a benefit to overall health.

• The cardiovascular benefits are the most prominent. Red wine and beer, in particular, are shown to provide benefits against cardiovascular damage in the long run. This could be due to the antioxidant properties of red wine. Alcohol itself (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) also has a positive effect. Some varieties of beer, porter and stout varieties in particular, are also shown to be beneficial. The anti-inflammatory properties and antiatherogenic (effect on plaque formation in the blood vessel) are what contribute to these positive effects.
• There is evidence to show that cholesterol profile is improved (good cholesterol increase) and clotting function is improved in people who have mild alcohol consumption.
• The insulin sensitivity is also better, leading to better control of sugar levels.
• Light alcohol consumption also is believed to reduce the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. However, heavy alcohol consumption is believed to increase the risk of stroke and other cerebral events.
• Limited alcohol use is also linked to reduced risk of dementia. Heavy consumption leads to faster memory decline.
• The key to note is that these benefits are only when the alcohol consumption is mild to moderate. In excess, the negative effects of alcohol are well established and numerous. Some of the most significant ones being cirrhosis of the liver and cancers of various organs including mouth, liver, larynx, oesophagus, colon, breast, pancreas, etc. To reduce these effects, alcohol screening and brief counselling to reduce habituation are helpful.

Antibiotics are something which have changed are lives for eternity as well as for the better, to say the very least. With each day that passes, there are greater strides of advancement which are made in the field. Of late, it is said that antibiotics also have the potential to stop new cells in the brain from growing, which is quite a risk when it comes to their usage among people are sick.

Research has found that if the brain of the person under treatment is subject to sustained use of antibiotics, it is true that the brain can lose its functionality for a quicker time than what one would consider to be normal. So it can be said, this usually is not the advisable way to go.

Like most testing practices when it comes to medication, antibiotics which were tested on the brains of the subjects i.e. those of mice had an effect of mitigating their high-level memory. How this happened to be is rather interesting, to say the very least.

How dangerous can antibiotics be?

It is often said that eating right does wonder for a person’s brain. Well, the mice that were not treated with the antibiotics were seen to lose the healthy bacteria present in their stomachs. In addition to this, they lost new brain cells. This led on to them performing worse in mental tests than their peers who had had some antibiotics administered to them on a consistent basis.

Now a cynic may point out that what is seen to be true for mice may really not hold true when it comes to humans being considered. However, if it is taken into due account that a lot of path-breaking research is carried out on mice, there is quite some credence to the results of the study.

To supplement the evidence even further, it was also seen that for mice which were in possession of low levels of monocytes, which are a type of white blood cells. It was seen that there was a great dependency on monocytes for the generation of white blood cells. The part of the brain which is hindered by generating new cells on account of the sustained use of antibiotics is the hippocampus.

Antibiotics are the proverbial shot in the arm which can aid recovery by destroying the threat to a person’s wellness. However, it is to be considered that they are not safe in general as there is collateral damage!

When particular nerve cells in the brain don't function properly, it leads to epilepsy, which is a common brain disorder. There are several variants of epilepsy, and the one that you are suffering from would play a major role in the type of seizure you are likely to have. Here are the two most common type of seizures:

Common types of Seizures

• Generalized seizures: This type of seizures take place when nerve cells on both sides of the brain start misfiring. They may lead to black out, fall or muscle spasms.
• Focal seizures: It starts in a particular area of the brain, and the names of the seizure are based on the affected area of the brain. They may lead to both emotional and physical effects which may affect the way a person feels or sees or hear things that have no real presence. In particular cases, the symptoms of focal seizures are regarded of some other kinds of mental or nervous disorder.

Seizures are not considered an either-or thing since some people tend to have a particular type of seizure which gradually alters its course. It is not always easy to classify certain types of seizures which are called unknown-onset seizures and may lead to both physical and sensory symptoms. Both focal and generalized seizures can be categorized into various groups. The most common are listed below:

Subcategories of focal and generalized seizures

• Simple focal seizures: It may change how the senses read the surroundings of a person. It can make a familiar taste or smell appear strange. Some people feel dizzy or visualize flashes of light or make the affected individual feel nauseated or sweaty.
• Complex focal seizures: It normally happens when a part of the brain which controls emotion and memory gets affected. The affected person may feel awake even when he has lost consciousness. It can take several minutes for a person to come out of the problem.

Secondary generalized seizures

It starts when a part of the brain spreads to the nerve cells. They may lead to a few physical symptoms including muscle slackness and convulsions.

On the other hand, there are six variants of generalized seizures:

• Clinic seizure: The muscles tend to have spasms which make a face, neck, and arms jerk rhythmically. It can last for minutes together.
• Tonic-clonic seizure: These are the most notable type of seizures and leads to stiffening of the body, jerking and shaking along with the loss of consciousness. It can last between 1 to 3 minutes, and in case they go for a longer span, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. It may lead to breathing issues and may cause the person to bite his tongue or cheek.
• Tonic seizures: When the muscled in the legs or arms or trunk tense up for more than 20 seconds, it is called a tonic seizure. If the affected person is in standing position, he or she may end up falling.

Other types of generalized seizure include atonic seizure, absence seizure and myoclonic seizure which are commonly seen in people who have epilepsy.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a degradation and eventually death of the brain cells. People with Alzheimer's disease suffer from a memory loss. There is also a progressive decline in the cognitive capacity of the brain.Today, Alzheimer's disease and dementia have become almost synonymous with old age. It is a heartbreaking experience to see aged people with Alzheimer's disease. They have little or no memory of the present time, of their loved people or the things around them.

The Alzheimer's disease starts off as a mild condition and then gradually progresses through stages. In this article, we will discuss the different stages associated with Alzheimer's disease.

1. The first stage: This stage shows no significant changes in the affected person. Thus, without any diagnostic tests (such as a PET scan), it will be difficult to detect the condition in the initial stage.
2. The second stage: This stage brings about some changes in the person. The person might misplace things or may even forget words (something that is often brushed aside as a small problem). However, this seldom interferes with their daily activities. Like the first stage, this stage, in most cases, goes unnoticed.
3. The third stage: This is the stage that brings about visible changes in the person concerned such as
   • The person experiences difficulties in trying to organize things.
   • They forget things they have read, or heard just a few seconds back.
   • In some cases, the person may not be able to recollect a person's name they have just met.
   • Some people may end up repeating the same question over and over again.
4. The fourth stage: This stage marks a further decline in the mental health. The person gets forgetful about himself or herself. They also start mixing up with the dates and months or makes major goof up while cooking (misses out on ingredients).
5. The fifth stage: The mental deterioration reaches a step further. The person slowly starts forgetting about the present, such as their address, the time of the day, their profession and even phone numbers.
6. The sixth stage: The problem is getting worse. Hallucination is slowly setting in. The person is starting to forget people and their faces, mixing one identity with another.
7. The seventh stage: The final and unfortunately, the worst stage. The person stops talking to people, eating, or even walking. They stay confined to their world, oblivious of their immediate surrounding.

Dealing with an Alzheimer patient

• In addition to the treatment and medication, a person with Alzheimer's disease needs the love, care, and support of their close and dear ones. Isolating them will only worsen the situation.
• It may not be easy to deal with an Alzheimer's patient as the disease progresses, but do not be rude to them. Give them the confidence.
• Always keep a paper containing their name, address and emergency contact number in their wallet.
• People after the age of 50 should undergo regular health check ups.