Ischemia

Question: I do not wish to overfill your plate, so after you get a chance to breath will you send info on ischemic? Is that head trauma related or neck related? I have 7 MRI readings all saying ischemic or vascular. One even says "too young for this age" or something like that.

Answer: Ischemic (or ischemia) refers to a disruption in blood flow. It can be head trauma related. This would mean that the trauma that caused your head injury also caused disruptions in blood flow. As we age, the integrity of our blood vessels declines and we may have heard the term "vascular disease" or "ischemic disease"--this refers to the disruption of blood vessels/blood flow due to aging. That is why there was mention of this in your report, the ischemic changes that were seen on your MRI were not typical of someone who is your age. 

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Question: When and How long does hemosiderin stay in your system? My first MRI happened 3 or 4 months after injury.

Answer: Hemosiderin is really an iron deposit that occurs when there has been bleeding in the brain. Iron is a component of your blood so when there is bleeding in the brain, this iron leaches out of the vessels. We can see it on an MRI because iron is magnetic and an MRI is one large magnet. Hemosiderin can sometimes be re-absorbed but most of the time you will still be able to see it on MRI scans, even several months after the initial injury. 

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Question: I have a patient who was diagnosed with Left Parietal Infarct. Kindly What is the best treatment for this?

Answer: A left parietal infarct would cause deficits in the areas of reading, writing, arthrimetic, motor apraxia (i.e. not being able to plan motor movements), hemiagnosia (lack of awareness of one side of the body), vision issues, and connecting sensory information with perception. The treatment for this type of stroke is the same as for other types of stroke. Cognitive rehabilitation to work on issues of memory, thinking, organization, problem solving and language issues (such as aphasia that may be the result of this type of stroke). Occupational therapy, would assist with hemineglect as well as, vision issues that may be present. Physical therapy would assist with motor deficits. Counseling is also important for both the survivor and the caregiver to cope with the effects of the injury.