8 ms·

Can someone smart (I am not it) explain how can something that you ingest orally create brain damage? What is an example of something simpler that we all may be

Can someone smart (I am not it) explain how can something that you ingest orally create brain damage? What is an example of something simpler that we all may be familiar with that could cause a similar effect, and the process through which it happens? In advance, thank you for educating me.

graeham 11y ago
It simply get absorbed in the gut (like food or all medicines), into the blood. There is a 'blood-brain barrier' that many things cannot cross, but far from all. Painkillers, caffine, LSD, and other psychoactive drugs all cross this barrier by definition. In terms of damage, there are many possible mechanisms once in the actual brain tissue. Quite often drugs would act on a receptor on a cell, which would change how the cell operates in some way, such as by inhibiting an ion channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxin
jo909 11y ago
Not quite on the same scale, but maybe more relatable: alcohol can have quite an effect on the brain. Luckily most of it is reversible.
- gus_massa 11y ago
  Somewhat related, drinking methanol (wood alcohol) can make you blind or kill you. More information in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol#Toxicity Layman translation: Methanol is transformed into Formate, that is another substance. Formate mess with the functions of the mitochondria, that are the parts of the cells that use the oxygen. So each cell dies like it would die if you can't breath oxygen. (I suppose that the neurons are more sensible, and the visual problems are easier to spot, so one of the first symptoms of Methanol poisoning is blindness.)
TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
There are many ways to cause brain damage, e.g. increased blood pressure leading to a stroke localised inflammation of brain tissue (which can be caused by an autoimmune response) oxygen deprivation enzyme degradation, where an external chemical blocks some of the chemical processes that keep brain cells working (drinking mercury will do this) The second one seems to have happened here. The may have drug triggered a wildly excessive autoimmune response called a cytokine storm, which is the immune system's equivalent of a firework display where everything is launched at the same time. This basically poisons you from the inside in various colourful and unpleasant ways. There's nothing about oral ingestion that makes it more or less likely to cause brain damage. Many chemicals can survive stomach acid and pass into the blood stream. The drug on trial was one of them.
brainbrane 11y ago
The majority of people reading this sentence have the JC virus present in their brains right now. Medications that suppress the immune system's ability to keep the JC virus in check can lead to PML, a brain-destroying disease that's often fatal. One oral medication that has led to cases of PML is dimethyl fumarate, marketed as Tecfidera.

graeham 11y ago

It simply get absorbed in the gut (like food or all medicines), into the blood. There is a 'blood-brain barrier' that many things cannot cross, but far from all. Painkillers, caffine, LSD, and other psychoactive drugs all cross this barrier by definition. In terms of damage, there are many possible mechanisms once in the actual brain tissue. Quite often drugs would act on a receptor on a cell, which would change how the cell operates in some way, such as by inhibiting an ion channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotoxin

jo909 11y ago

Not quite on the same scale, but maybe more relatable: alcohol can have quite an effect on the brain. Luckily most of it is reversible.

gus_massa 11y ago
Somewhat related, drinking methanol (wood alcohol) can make you blind or kill you. More information in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol#Toxicity Layman translation: Methanol is transformed into Formate, that is another substance. Formate mess with the functions of the mitochondria, that are the parts of the cells that use the oxygen. So each cell dies like it would die if you can't breath oxygen. (I suppose that the neurons are more sensible, and the visual problems are easier to spot, so one of the first symptoms of Methanol poisoning is blindness.)

TheOtherHobbes 11y ago

There are many ways to cause brain damage, e.g. increased blood pressure leading to a stroke localised inflammation of brain tissue (which can be caused by an autoimmune response) oxygen deprivation enzyme degradation, where an external chemical blocks some of the chemical processes that keep brain cells working (drinking mercury will do this) The second one seems to have happened here. The may have drug triggered a wildly excessive autoimmune response called a cytokine storm, which is the immune system's equivalent of a firework display where everything is launched at the same time. This basically poisons you from the inside in various colourful and unpleasant ways. There's nothing about oral ingestion that makes it more or less likely to cause brain damage. Many chemicals can survive stomach acid and pass into the blood stream. The drug on trial was one of them.

brainbrane 11y ago

The majority of people reading this sentence have the JC virus present in their brains right now. Medications that suppress the immune system's ability to keep the JC virus in check can lead to PML, a brain-destroying disease that's often fatal. One oral medication that has led to cases of PML is dimethyl fumarate, marketed as Tecfidera.