Getting to the heart of a stroke - Part II

Based on a talk at the HOPE stroke support group July 2012

The word ‘stroke’ is derived from the Greek word apoplexia which means “to strike”. The first written descriptions of sudden paralysis appeared in the writings of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. Before the word stroke became popular, the term apoplexy was commonly used to describe this disease.

From a structural standpoint, the brain can be thought of as a house with three levels. The first floor or the lowest level is called the hindbrain. The second floor or the middle level is called the midbrain and the top floor is the forebrain. The hindbrain or the lowest part of the brain controls vital bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate and digestion. This part of the brain is connected to the spinal cord and controls many bodily functions that does not need approval from the higher centers in the brain. There is a certain amount of autonomy that is given to this part of the brain. The midbrain controls posture, movement and reflex eye movements. The midbrain is a small structure that connects the forebrain and the hindbrain. The forebrain is the largest part of the brain and most of it taken up by what is called the cerebral cortex. Of all the earthly creatures, humans have the largest cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex fills most of the space under the skull and is divided into two halves that are interconnected. Although the two halves of the brain appear similar, they have very different functions. The right brain controls the left side of the body and the left brain controls the right side of the body. 

Getting to the heart of a stroke - Part I

Based on a talk at Dr. Purser's wellness group, July 2012.

What do economists and physicians have in common?  The world we now live in is straddled with economic woes. In the eyes of an economist, there is a sickness going around and that illness is ‘debt’. Economists make forecasts and propose fixes for the monetary structure. They look at debt from this perspective. Everyone would agree that economic growth is the best way to get out of debt. In politics, the word debt is looked at differently depending on who you talk to. One end of the spectrum, debt stands for ‘Do Everything But Tax’ and at the other end of the spectrum, ‘Do Everything By Tax’.  

The word debt has also crept into human physiology. This is an entirely different kind of debt, the kind that draws the line between health and disease, life and death. In  the human body, the stakes are a lot higher. This debt is called the oxygen debt. In simple terms, cells use oxygen. If the supply of oxygen to individual cells is interrupted, the cells don’t immediately die. They survive by other means and the cells go into debt, called the oxygen debt. If the cells don’t repay this debt by replenishing itself with fresh oxygen, cellular ‘default’ occurs. The cellular equivalent of bankruptcy called cell death then slowly sets in. Depending on the location in the body, cellular death is called different names. For, example, if cells in the heart are deprived of oxygen, a heart attack ensues and similarly if oxygen supply to the cells of brain is interrupted, brain cells die resulting in a stroke. 

The Genie and the Mind - Part V

The young man held up the two glass statues after dusting them off with the old piece of cloth in which they were wrapped. “I have carried these with me everywhere I have gone. I look at them every morning wondering what is concealed behind the coloring on the glass surface.” The statues were about a foot long each and weighed a pound.

When the wise old man was handing over the statues, he told the young man, “I want you to discover what is inside these statutes without breaking them. These two statues are actually keys to a lock. That lock can only be opened if you have them both.”

The young man’s curiosity was aroused and he asked, “Where is the door that has the lock?”

The Genie and the Mind - Part IV

On hearing that the young man had a clue about where the treasure was, the Genie’s master expressed a huge sigh of relief. The young man, the Genie and his master sat down next to the container to plot their next move.

The young man said, “There were several things that the wise old man told me. As I remember them, some of what he said back then makes sense now in the context of the treasure and other things are very much a riddle. In fact, most of what he spoke was misunderstood by people who came across him. Since he had a reputation of being a kind old soul who did not expect anything from anyone, he was left alone without being ridiculed. I once asked him why he did not speak in a manner that would be easily understood by everyone.”

The wise man replied, “The knowledge of the truth that I have acquired is freely available to anyone who seeks it. The price I paid for this knowledge of the truth that pervades everything is complete detachment and deep introspection.”

The young man asked, “What path did you follow?”

The Genie and the Mind - Part III

Continued from previous post...

As the children settled in their chairs facing the old man and the visitor, the two Genies belonging to the old man and the visitor were busy counting up to a hundred and back to one in an adjacent room. Although the both of the Genies were in the same room, each one ignored the other and continued on tirelessly.

The old man said “Children, you are about to witness something very exciting, the likes of which you may never see again. Your grandfather and I share a wonderful secret.” The old man then called out and waved his hand in the direction of his Genie, hidden from view by a wall separating the two rooms. When his Genie did not respond, the old man then commanded his Genie in a louder voice, giving the children an impression that something magical was about to transpire. As if on cue, the visitor then shouted out for his own Genie. Hearing an order to stop counting, the two Genies slowly made their way into the other room. 

The Genie and the Mind - Part II

The Genie and the Mind - Part II: continued from previous post.

"It is a long story, do you really want to hear the details?" the visitor exclaimed. The old man offered him a comfortable chair in the den and the children were asked to play outside while the two men talked. The room was dark, the darkness punctuated by a table lamp that lit up a desk that was covered with assorted books and papers. The wall behind them had a large bookshelf adorned with ancient looking books, some of which had etched gold lettering that was hard to discern in the dark. The visitor asked the old man what he had done for a living and if he read a lot. The old man said that his life was generally made easy by all the things that the Genie brought him. His professional life as a  salesman was overshadowed by an easy and rich material life the Genie had brought him. Now, what little spare time the Genie left him with was spent looking back at his life and pondering the 'what ifs'.

The Genie and the Mind

A young boy and his parents moved into a house that they bought from an old couple who had lived there for many years. The little boy was very curious and right away set out to explore the house. He stumbled upon a hidden spiral stairwell that appeared to have been unused for a long time. The boy climbed the narrow steps that led to a small attic. Once his eyes got accustomed to the darkness in the musty attic, he came upon a pile of old and dusty toys. As the boy combed through the collection of metallic objects that may have entertained children a couple of generations back, there was a loud clatter caused by an ornate lamp that rolled off one of the creaky wooden rafters. The boy was enchanted by the glitter of the metal and the ornate stone inlay work. The lamp seemed to emanate an other worldly glow beckoning him to pick it up. As he picked up the lamp, everything around him blurred as if the attic was suddenly covered in smoke.