Being Mindful Of How We Can Protect The Cells In Our Brain
Otherwise, nefarious situations can accelerate the rate of brain cell death, some of which is irreversible.
Our brains contain approximately 86 billion neuron cells that are used in storing and processing information.
These neuron cells are like any other live organism. They possess a finite lifespan, and when they have outlived their usefulness, they are condemned to the scrap heap for elimination and recycling via autophagy. This is part of the normal cell life cycle:
The quality of our lives is heavily dependent on a properly regulated rate of cell growth and cell death. However, in neurodegenerative issues such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, which are common among the elderly, we do notice that the brain loses its capability to function at the same capacity as they age — and that’s because the cells in certain parts of the brain are dying at faster than usual rates.
One of the central tenets of brain cell survivability is the concept of inflammation. When the brain gets inflamed, brain cells are programmed to commit apoptosis (suicide) prematurely, resulting in a loss of brain capacity and activity.
That’s one reason why getting an extremely high fever can be bad for us. The high fever is a sign of acute inflammation, and if that inflammation can make its way to our brain, it can then affect those brain cells. If those brain cells die prematurely, we’d see a loss of brain capacity and activity.
Hence, extremely high fevers of 108°F (42°C) can be pretty detrimental for brain function, and it could even lead to death, especially if the essential brain functions for human life are impaired by the fever.
We have a blood brain barrier that functions as a biochemical filter.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) functions as a filter to prevent the diffusion of any noxious chemicals from the blood supply into the brain, and as such, protects the delicate brain cells from coming into contact with any noxious chemicals.
However, the BBB filtering mechanism can be weakened in the presence of elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines. These cytokines are biochemicals that function as signallers, and are produced by the immune system as a response to any form of injury.
And when the filter is weakened, things that should not have been able to pass through the filter are now able to pass through the BBB. Including all the undesirable biochemicals in the blood that have no business being in the brain at all.
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