RESOURCES

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What is Brain Injury / Stroke?

A stroke, sometimes called a brain attack, occurs when something blocks the blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. In either case, parts of the brain become damaged or die. A stroke can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.

What are the types of strokes?

• Ischemic Stroke: Most strokes (87%) are ischemic strokes. An ischemic stroke happens when blood flow through the artery that supplies oxygen-rich blood to the brain becomes blocked. Blood clots often cause the blockages that lead to ischemic strokes.
• Hemorrhagic Stroke: A hemorrhagic stroke happens when an artery in the brain leaks blood or ruptures (breaks open). The leaked blood puts too much pressure on brain cells, which damages them. High blood pressure and aneurysms – balloon-like bulges in an artery that can stretch and burst – are examples of conditions that can cause a hemorrhagic stroke.
• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA): A TIA is sometimes called a “mini-stroke”. It is different from the major types of stroke because blood flow to the brain is blocked for only a short time – usually no more than 5 minutes.

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What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear later in life. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that more than 6 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older, may have Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and is the most common cause of dementia among older adults.

Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning – thinking, remembering and reasoning – and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most sever stage, when the person must depend completely on others for help with basic activities of daily living.

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What is Prostate Cancer?

Cancer is the result of abnormal cell growth, which takes over the body’s normal cell function, making it harder for the body to work the way it should. Prostate cancer develops when abnormal cells form and grow in the prostate gland. Not all abnormal growths, also called tumors, are cancerous (malignant). Some tumors are not cancerous (benign).

• Benign growth, such as benign prostatic hyperplasic (BPH), are not life threatening. They do not spread to nearby tissue or other parts of the body. These growths can be removed and may grow back slowly (but often do not grow back).
• Cancerous growths, such as prostate cancer, can spread (metastasize) to nearby organs and tissues such as the bladder or rectum, or to other parts of the body. If the abnormal growth is removed, it can still grow back. Prostate cancer can be life threatening if it spreads far beyond the prostate (metastatic disease).

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What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.

Endometriosis can start at a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause.

With endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This leads to inflammation and scar tissue forming in the pelvic region and (rarely) elsewhere in the body. 

The cause of endometriosis is unknown. There is no known way to prevent endometriosis. There is no cure, but its symptoms can be treated with medicines or, in some cases, surgery.

It causes a chronic inflammatory reaction that may result in the formation of scar tissue (adhesions, fibrosis) within the pelvis and other parts of the body. Several lesion types have been described:

• Superficial endometriosis found mainly on the pelvic peritoneum
• Cystic ovarian endometriosis (endometrioma) found in the ovaries
• Deep endometriosis found in the recto-vaginal septum, bladder, and bowel
• In rare cases, endometriosis has also been found outside the pelvis