Age no bar for brain stroke

When 38-yr-old Anil Kumar had to be rushed to the PGI8217;s Neurology Department for his sudden, acute headache, little did he and his family realise that it was actually a brain stroke.

When 38-yr-old Anil Kumar had to be rushed to the PGI8217;s Neurology Department for his sudden, acute headache, little did he and his family realise that it was actually a brain stroke. And without timely intervention, it would have either been fatal or left him paralysed for the rest of his life.

8220;I had the symptoms, but never realised that a brain stroke can happen at my age,8221; Kumar said, echoing the prevailing perception that brain strokes are synonymous with age.

But for the neurologists, the rising incidence of brain stoke among the young is a major cause of concern. And at the Post Graduate Research Institute PGI, Chandigarh, doctors are working on a research project assigned by the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR, to study this new phenomenon.

What the researchers find intriguing are the figures in the country, which differ vastly from the figures in the West. In fact, here, about of 25 to 30 per cent of brain stroke occurs in people below 40. The rate in the same age group in western countries is a drastically low 10 per cent or even less.

VICTIMS ARE YOUNG

Trend studies undertaken by the department pointed out how the number of young patients with brain stroke are consistently rising. However, the overall proportion of young brain stroke patients has never really come down below 22 per cent of such patients that the PGI receives. the figure 8212; still a far cry from the figures in the West 8212; was arrived at after a 10-year research conducted by the PGI from 1985 to 1995.

8220;The high incidence of young patients getting the stroke when they are in their productive age group is the main concern in India, where people are still in the dark about what brain stroke really is. People should realise that in many ways, brain strokes are more dangerous than heart strokes because brain stroke affects any organ of the body,8221; said Prof S Prabhakar, Head of Department of Neurology at the PGI.

WHAT IS BRAIN STROKE

Brain stroke occurs when the arteries reaching the brain to supply oxygen and other nutrients are blocked by a clot and may burst, causing an immediate oxygen starvation in the brain. If the results are not fatal, the affected area of the brain can affect the organs or functions of the body which it directly controls.

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Consequently, brain stroke has a plethora of symptoms: numbness in hands, arms, legs and face8212;especially on one side; a feeling of heaviness in the hands; dizziness, difficulty in walking and maintaining proper balance; sudden and acute headache; blurred vision; difficulty in speech or sudden loss of words.

WHO ARE AT RISK

According to the research, the high risk population includes individuals with high blood pressure, diabetics, smokers people who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day stand more than 7 times the risk, alcoholics, obese people and heart patients.

DO GENES HAVE A ROLE

Though the doctors say that lifestyle is a contributing factor in the rising incidence of brain stroke among the young in India, they still feel it does not explain the situation fully. Which is why, the neurologists at the PGI are working on the genetic angle and the initial results have pointed out that genes do have a role to play here.

The doctors, who studied 500 young brain stroke patients for over two years, say that the genetic disposition for brain stroke can be a reason for its occurrence.

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8220;So far, our data indicates that genetic factors could be responsible for brain stroke. If the particular genes are identified, the reason for a high incidence of brain stroke in the young Indian population might be explained,8221; said Prof Prabhakar.

PREVENTION AND CURE

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the awareness about the early symptoms of brain stroke are the best prevention.

If, however, brain stroke does occur, treatment has to be given at the earliest, that is, within three hours of the stroke. This is where the problem for stroke management lies.

As statistics reveal, while PGI receives 3,600 patients a year, only 20 on an average can be treated, as they reached the institute within 3 hours of the stroke. They are administered clot dissolving drugs immediately and the dilapidating effects of the stroke are minimised.

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For others, who arrive in the hospital several hours later, the chances of effective treatment are reduced. Around 20 per cent of victims die. For those who survive, the lasting effects of brain stroke8212;paralysis and deformity8212;remain. The long-term treatment for them includes physiotherapy and speech therapy.

8220;Ideally, the good institutes in the country should have the Special Stroke Units, which are fully equipped to deal with this. But it is unfortunate that such units are a rarity in the country even though they do not entail a very heavy investment8212;around Rs 15-20 lakh each,8221; said one of the neurologists at the PGI.

8211;neelamexpressindia.com