Brain Degeneration Ain’t All That It’s Cracked Up To Be
How does the human brain even get inflamed in the first place?
Our brains contain approximately 86 billion neuron cells that are used in storing and processing information.
As cells are living organisms, they have a finite lifespan for functioning and reproducing, and then they are condemned to the scrap heap for elimination and recycling via autophagy. This is part of the normal cell life cycle.
If every human cell were to behave as they were programmed to behave, there would be no issues with degeneration diseases. 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.
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.
But what is going on in the brain at that time?
Before we go into what goes on, we first have to understand the concept of inflammation.
