Assignment task:
Blood vessels play a significant role in the body's capability of daily function. In the article I have chosen, the authors suggest how structural imaging techniques help enable tissue damage detection, as well as the characterization of the tissue, thus providing a continuous measure of the brain and its relation to cSVD. Advanced MRI techniques can demonstrate functional or dynamic abnormalities of the blood vessels, leading to specific research information and potential early-stage intervention trials (Van Den Brink et al., 2023). An overview of arteries and blood vessels causing cSVD will aid in clinical trials to help disease prevention, progression, and tissue damage.
What is cSVD? Cerebral small vessel disease is a worthy cause of strokes (both ischemic and hemorrhagic) and dementia (vascular cognitive impairment), which can be characterized on an MRI by the multiple tissue alterations in the brain (Van Den Brink et al., 2023). CSVD can occur in any blood vessel (arteriole, capillaries and small veins) that supply the brain's white matter. This disease is found incidentally during a brain scan, resulting in the diagnosis. Many causes of cSVD are the following: arteriosclerosis, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, genetic small vessel angiopathy, inflammation and immune-mediated small vessel disease, and venous collagenases. There are no casual treatments for this disease, a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (Chojdak et al., 2021).
The relation of this course to the case study is that this article highlights the importance of blood vessels in the body, and when they are non-functioning, they result in life-or-death diseases. Blood supply is required in all body parts, with the brain being one of the essential organs in need of oxygen, which is why this article relates perfectly to A&P. In relation to diseases, CSVD and other diseases we have seen in class concerning blood vessels are edemas, varicose veins, embolisms, and more. We covered material mainly on blood vessels and discussed the heart and lungs, two significant organs concerning blood and transportation throughout the body. Without the connection between these organs and blood vessels, the body would not function. Organs are co-reliant on each other properly work, so with one, the other can perform at its peak. Not only does this case study relate to our present courses by highlighting the anatomy and physiology of the body, but it also highlights the use of structural imaging techniques, something we will be familiarized within our future careers as nurses.
Q1. Why/how is cSVD related to cardiovascular diseases?
Q2. What are other ways to detect cSVD other than an MRI?