Though childhood brain tumor is a rare disease, still, many children of any age all over the world suffer from this condition. Unlike the brain tumors in adults, brain tumors in children is a bit different. Brain tumors are probably the most common form of solid tumors affecting children. However, having knowledge of the symptoms, probable treatment of the disease can help the parents in coping with the situation in a better way and taking the right decision at the right time.

What is a brain tumor?
A group of abnormal cell growth in the brain is referred to as a brain tumor. The types of brain tumor depend upon the structure of the tumor cells, their rate of growth, composition and several other characteristics. However, two most common types of brain tumor affecting children are primary and secondary. In primary brain tumor, the tumor cells develop in the brain, while in secondary, cancerous cells invade the brain from other parts of the body.

Symptoms that determine the presence of tumor may vary in every child. The variation is due to certain aspects including size of the tumor, the location of the tumor, how the tumor is affecting the brain, etc. Some of the most common symptoms of childhood brain tumor are severe headaches, occasional seizures, feeling of sickness and vomiting, eye problems such as blurred visions, feelings of drowsiness without any reason, etc. Some children suffering from brain tumour may also experience difficulty in maintaining balance when walking or behavioral changes in children.

Treatment
While for some, surgical removal of the tumor may be the only treatment solution, for some sessions of radiotherapy and chemotherapy turn out to be really helpful. To control or reduce the effects of the brain tumor symptoms, taking regular medications may also be necessary for the affected children. Doctor may devise the best treatment plan despending on the condition of a child. As the treatment completely depends on the severity of the problem.

Prognosis
Depending on the grade, location, and type of tumor as well as the treatment, the overall health of children can be determined. While a significant number of children often successfully recover from the brain tumor, for some, the treatment needs to be continued for many years. As the nervous system of a child is in its developing stage, sometimes, children may develop some kind of learning or behavioral or physical disability as a result of the brain tumor treatment. If a child has any of these symptoms mentioned above, his or her parents should consult a medical professional right away. The sooner it is diagnosed, the better are the chances for the child to recover from a brain tumor.


Brain Tumor In Children - Understanding It In Detail!

Alzheimer s disease is a neurological, irreversible, progressive brain disorder. It is a chronic neurodegenerative dementia that causes the death of brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. It affects a person s thinking and behavior. The symptoms develop slowly and get worse as time passes.

Causes:
As it is a kind of dementia, Alzheimer s is caused by the death of brain cells. Over a course of time, brain cells die progressively and at the end, the tissue is left with fewer nerve cells and connections. As a result, the total brain size shrinks. Tiny inclusions called plaques and tangles can be seen in the postmortem. These cannot be seen or tested in a living Alzheimer s affected brain. These plaques are given the name  amyloid plaques  because they are found among the dying cells of the brain when a protein called beta-amyloid builds. The tangles stay in the neurons; they are formed from a protein called tau.

There are several reasons behind all this, some of which are listed below-

Anti-anxiety medications
Hitting on the head too many times
Regularly sleep-deprived
Loneliness
Diabetes in the brain
Old age
Genetic line
Down s syndrome
Cardiovascular diseases
Symptoms:
Alzheimer s disease damages the brain, so the clinical signs and symptoms begin to show very early. The symptoms are-

Memory loss
Agitation and mood swings
Poor judgment
The trouble with money calculations
Difficulty doing familiar tasks
Trouble in planning or solving a problem
Confusion with time and place
Difficulty in communicating
Loss of motivation
Inappropriate behavior
Aggressive personality
Childlike behavior
Preventing Alzheimer s disease:
Alzheimer s disease ultimately results in death. Even if there are treatments, they cannot fully cure it. So it s better to try to prevent it before it happens. Ways to prevent Alzheimer s disease are-

Eating more fruits and vegetables.
Eating berries every day.
Increasing omega-3 fatty acids.
Taking folic acid supplements.
Drinking grape juice or red wine with evening meal.
Doing the Mediterranean style diet.
Controlling the blood pressure.
Having strong social support.
Treatment of Alzheimer s disease:

Treatment of Alzheimer s disease is a long time process.
First of all, doctors perform a physical exam to check the overall neurological health. By this, they check muscle strength, reflexes, walking ability, sense of sight and hearing, coordination and balance.
Then comes the blood test to find the cause of confusion and memory loss by checking the thyroid disorder and vitamin deficiency.
Then they perform the neuropsychological test and check the mental status.
Then there are other tests, like MRI, CT, and PET.
After all this, drugs are given and a safe and supportive environment is created with proper exercise and nutrition.
Alzheimer s disease is undoubtedly the worst kind of disease. Hence, it is highly recommended to contact a doctor as soon as any symptom is noticed.

All About Alzheimer's Disease!

Migraine headache is characterized by a severe headache usually affecting one side of the head. There are other symptoms along with headache like nausea/vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. Some patients experience neurological phenomena like changes in vision, temporary loss of sensation and altered sensation, a phenomenon known as an aura (flashes of light, zigzag patterns, bright spots, tingling in the arms and the legs). Migraine headache can last for 2 to 3 days. 

Symptoms: The symptoms depend on the stage of a migraine attack. The stages of a migraine attack can be: 

Prodrome, Aura, Headache or attack, and Postdrome. 
Prodorme: One to two days prior to the migraine attack, patient may experience; 
Mood swings. 
Cravings for food. 
Increased yawning. 
Stiff neck. 
Constipation and frequent thirst and urination. 
In case of an aura (during or before a migraine), there may be visual, motor, speech, and sensory illusions and disturbances such as, 

Loss of vision. 
A strange sensation of needles pricking an arm or a leg. 
One side of the body becomes weak and numb. 
There are visual illusions such as the appearance of flashes of light, zigzag patterns, bright spots. 
There is a problem in hearing and speaking. 
In some cases, there may be a hemiplegic migraine (the limb becomes weak). 
During a Migraine Attack (lasts for 4 to 72 hours), there may be 

A throbbing pain on either one or both sides of the head 
Blurred vision, light-headedness. 
Nausea and vomiting 
Sensitivity to light and sound 
Sensitivity to touch and smell (though rare) 
In Postdrome (after a migraine), there can be 

Mood swings. 
A person may be sensitive to light and sound. 
Dizziness and weakness 
Confusion 
Extreme fatigue 
An amalgamation of environmental and genetic factors may be responsible for a migraine. Trigger varies for each patient: 

Stress and extreme physical exertion 
Obesity 
Alcohol and caffeinated drinks and beverages 
Salty and processed foods 
Altered sleeping habits 
Hormonal alterations in women (Constant fluctuation in the level of oestrogen) 
Oral contraceptives and certain vasodilators (nitroglycerin) 
Preservatives like MSG (monosodium glutamate) and Aspartame (sweetener) 
Sunshine, certain odours, travel, etc can trigger migraine. 
Treatment and Prevention: 

Medicines under supervision to abort an attack of migraine and special drugs to stop attacks. 
Lifestyle changes are helpful to decrease attacks: 
Avoid your trigger for migraine. 
Follow regular sleep -wake cycle. 
Regular exercise, meditation. 
Avoidance of alcohol, caffeine containing beverages. 
Other treatment options that can be availed from pain specialist: 
Transcutaneous supraorbital nerve stimulation 
Intramuscular stimulation. 
Botulinum toxin injection. 
Occipital nerve block.

Migraine Pain - Facts About It!

Although surgery is considered to be the first step of treatment in any form of tumor, but its feasibility depends upon the type, size and location of the tumor. It is not necessary that every kind of brain tumor might require surgery.

Indications of Brain Tumor Surgery
- Diagnosis of the type of tumor by taking a sample of the tumor for laboratory examination
- Complete resection of tumor
- Removal of the tumor as much as possible to slow down its growth and improve the symptoms
- Remove the tumor in order to help other treatment
- Provide direct access for other forms of treatment like chemotherapy, radiotherapy etc.
- To relieve pressure caused by tumor on surrounding structures

Types of Brain Tumor Surgery
The different types of surgery that are performed in cases of brain tumor include the following:

Craniotomy: Craniotomy is the most commonly performed procedure to remove brain tumor along with a piece of bone. The removed bone is replaced and the tumor is sent for histopathology (biopsy). The surgery is performed using a high end microscope by any of the following techniques:
- Extended bifrontal craniotomy
- "Eyebrow" craniotomy (supraorbital craniotomy)
- "Keyhole" craniotomy (retro-sigmoid craniotomy)
- Orbitozygomatic craniotomy
- Translabyrinthine craniotomy

Shunt: A narrow piece of flexible tube with a pressure regulated valve in between is called a shunt. This is used to relieve the intracranial pressure caused by obstruction of the natural brain fluid, Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway by tumor mass. The procedure involves insertion of a drainage system into the brain to remove or drain excess of blocked fluid into the peritoneal cavity.

Stereotactic surgery: This surgery is done by creating a three dimensional image called stereotaxy using computers. It aims to find out the location and position of the tumor. In fact it can also be done to aid tumor removal, implant radiation pellets or for other treatments.

Embolization: It is a procedure used to reduce the amount of blood supply to a tumor by blocking the blood flow in the selected arteries. It is generally performed before the main surgery.

Endoscopy and endoscope assisted surgery: Endoscope is a tool, which helps to closely visualize the tissue through small openings in difficult to reach areas. This tool can be used in various brain surgeries to precisely reach the target location without damaging the adjacent structures.

Adjuvant modalities to improve outcome: In addition to above mentioned surgeries, following surgeries may also be performed in relation to brain tumor treatment:
- Laser surgery
- Photodynamic laser surgery
- Ultrasonic aspiration
- Fluorescence guided surgery (FGS)
- Electrophysiological monitoring

Brain Tumor Surgery

Migraine is a type of headache which can occur in varied intensities; the pain resulting from a migraine is pulsating and throbbing. This sort of a headache is usually accompanied by extreme sensitivity to sounds and light as well as severe nausea. One feature that significantly differentiates between migraine and any other type of headache is that the headache resulting from migraines usually develops on any one side of the head.

Causes of Migraine

The exact cause behind migraine is yet to be fully understood. Migraines are thought to be a result of combination of genetic and environmental factors.In majority of cases, migraines tend to run in families . There are few well known trigger factors for migraine. These are   stress, exertion, gastric disturbances, eating heavy food stuff, taking alcoholic drinks, coffee intake, hormone changes in females.

Symptoms of Migraine

The most characteristic symptom of migraine is one sided headache mostly of violent, throbbing and pulsating in nature. The accompanying symptoms include nausea, vomiting, blurring of vision, flashes of light before eyes, double vision, light/sound sensitivity, confusion and weakness.

Homeopathy is not in the favour of using temporary treatments like popping a painkiller to alleviate the throbbing, pulsating and often intolerable pain caused from migraine. Homeopathy aims at going deep down into the root of the problem and entirely removes the tendency of any patient to be shot with migraine headaches every now and then. That is why homeopathic medications may take some time in showing results. They do not offer any temporary relief like most allopathic treatments do. On the other hand, homeopathic medicines offer a long term relief and can cure the migraine problem permanently.

Though homeopathic treatments vary from person to person, there are a few homeopathic medicines, which are very effective in relieving migraine headaches.

Belladona for throbbing migraine attack: Belladonna is one of the most effective homeopathic medicines for treating migraine headache that is throbbing and violent in the temporal region of the head. If pain gets triggered without any prior prodromal symptoms and worsens by noise, touching and light, then Belladona is potent in removing the pain. This medicine is also good if you are unable to lie down because of pain and if your face turns red and hot when you are struck with excruciating pain. Have a few drops of Belladona and apply a mild pressure to feel better.
Glonoine for migraine with congestive headache: When you are struck with congestive headache, a rush of blood reaches the head region causing redness in face and head area with intolerable throbbing pain. You may even feel shocks around the head which get aggravated when exposed to heat or sunlight. It becomes impossible to tolerate any kind of warmth, and you may feel a bit relieved when you uncover the head. If you are affected with congestive headache, then consuming Glonoine can be of immense help.
Natrum Mur for migraine from grief and stress: This medicine is widely used for alleviating migraine caused from stress and grief. Natrum Mur is also effective in alleviating anaemic headaches, which mostly affect young women. It often leads to temporary sightlessness, and the pain feels as if thousands of small hammers are being throbbed within the brain. The pain tends to rise up after through the day, and the patient may feel better after sunset. If the pain gets triggered when the eye is strained, then Natrum Mur is the medication for you.
As you see, homeopathic treatments are great for reducing migraine attacks and your doctor will be able to guide you better on this matter. Homoeopathy treats each patient of Migraine by individualization and thus treats the root cause of migraine which could be Sun, stress, exertion etc.

How Homeopathy Helps In Handling Migraine!

Epilepsy is a disease that affects the brain's nerve cells and triggers the release of abnormal electrical signals. This can cause temporary malfunctioning of the other brain cells and result in sudden loss of consciousness. Epilepsy can affect both children and adults.

Epilepsy can be treated in a number of ways. One of the most preferred forms of treatment is homeopathy. Homeopathy addresses both the physical symptoms of the disease and the underlying factors triggering it. Another big advantage of homeopathic treatment is that it has negligible side effects.

A few homeopathic remedies that can be used to treat epilepsy are:

Cicuta
Cicuta is very effective when used to treat cases of epilepsy where convulsions are marked by violent, body distortions. This can include the horrific backward bending of the spine. These convulsions also make the person's face turn blue and trigger a locked jaw. This can also be used to effectively treat epilepsy cases triggered by head injuries and worms.

Artemisia vulgaris
This is used to often treat cases of petit mal epilepsy which are characterized by staring into space, leaning forwards or backwards and stopping a sentence abruptly. It also addresses fear that triggers epileptic attacks.

Stramonium
Convulsions triggered by exposure to bright lights or shiny objects can be treated with this homeopathic remedy. In such cases, the patient may not lose consciousness but experiences jerks in the muscles of the upper body.

Cuprum met
This homeopathic remedy is used to treat seizures that are preceded by experiencing an aura in the knees. Other symptoms that characterize this sort of an epileptic attack are spasms that begin in the fingers and toes and gradually spread to the rest of the body and jerking of muscles. This can also be used to treat convulsions that accompany menstruation and follow the delivery of a baby.

Bufo rana
Not all epileptic attacks occur you are awake. Attacks that occur in your sleep can be treated with bufo rana. Such epileptic attacks are accompanied by experiencing an aura in the genital regions. This is especially helpful for women who experience seizures during menstruation.

Hyoscyamus
Some epileptic fits are followed by a deep sleep. This type of epileptic attacks can be treated with hyoscyamus. Other symptoms addresses by this homeopathic medicine are fidgeting with bed clothes, fidgeting with fingers and muscular twitching.

These homeopathic remedies can be taken on their own or in combination with other medicines.

Top Homeopathic Remedies for Epilepsy Treatment

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