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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Low, the brain is deprived of its main source of energy (sugar) and can malfunction or become damaged. Over time, diabetes damages the blood vessels and nerve cells in the brain. As a result, the brain may not get enough oxygen, and brain tissue may die.Other disorders can cause cells throughout the body to malfunction. Often, brain cells are affected the most. These disorders includeLiver failureKidney failureAn underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)A very low or high body temperature (hypothermia or hyperthermia)Very low or high levels of calcium or sodium in the bloodThiamin deficiencyInfections, such as sepsis, meningitis, and viral infections, including encephalitis, COVID-19, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)Other common causes are disorders that affect the areas of the brain that control consciousness. These disorders include the following:A head injury may jar but not physically damage these areas, directly damage them, or indirectly damage them by causing bleeding (hemorrhage) in or around the brain.Strokes and tumors can also directly damage areas of the brain that control consciousness.Any disorder that increases pressure within the skull (intracranial pressure) can impair consciousness. A mass in the brain, such as an accumulation of blood (hematoma), a tumor, or an abscess, can impair consciousness indirectly by putting pressure on the areas of the brain that control consciousness.A structural abnormality can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, increasing pressure within the skull. Cerebrospinal fluid is the fluid that flows through the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord and fills the spaces within the brain. Some structural abnormalities are present at birth.A large mass can push the brain against the relatively rigid structures inside the skull, damaging brain tissue. If the areas of the brain that control consciousness are affected, stupor or coma results. If the pressure is high enough, the brain may be forced through a small natural opening in the relatively rigid sheets of tissue that separate the brain into compartments. This life-threatening disorder is called brain herniation. Herniation can further damage brain tissue, making an already dire condition worse.Having had a stroke or having another disorder that affects brain function makes the brain more susceptible to other disorders that can impair consciousness.Commonly, consciousness is impaired by drinking too much alcohol or taking too much of certain medications or illicit drugs, such as sedatives and opioids (narcotics). In addition to making brain cells function slowly, alcohol and some medications and illicit drugs can damage brain cells indirectly. They can slow breathing so much that the oxygen level in blood becomes low enough to cause brain damage.Taking several medications (to treat several disorders) is also a common cause, partly because taking several medications increases the risk of interactions between medications.Overdoses of marijuana, including medical marijuana, sometimes causes the brain to malfunction, resulting in impaired consciousness and sometimes seizures.Occasionally, taking certain antipsychotic medications results in an unresponsive state called neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by muscle rigidity, fever, and high blood pressure, as well as changes in mental function (such as confusion
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