Gliosis: What is it? Learn to Detect this Disease in Time – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Definition:

Gliosis is a reaction response of the glial cells of the central nervous system after an injury or brain trauma. During this process, scars form in the brain due to the release of astrocytes in the part of the brain that has been injured or damaged.

It is a biological response of glial cells in the central nervous system that often leads to the formation of scars at the injury site. This leads to a series of changes at the cellular and molecular levels for a few days. This occurs as the primary immune response after the lesions.

When all this biological process starts, it can be beneficial, or it can also be harmful to the nervous system.

On the one hand, it is beneficial because Gliosis is a response to the release of healthy cells into damaged tissues. Still, on the harmful side, in some cases, scarring can lead to irreversible and permanent damage to neurons.

Gliosis involves a process that undergoes a series of changes in molecules and cells that occurs over several days. It affects glial cells in the brain and spinal cord and is the primary immune response after injury or damage to the brain occurs.

The onset of Gliosis can be beneficial or harmful to the central nervous system. Gliosis helps to surround healthy cells to avoid further damage. This is achieved by containing damaged and unhealthy neurons.

 

The protection of healthy cells from the results of cell death and inflammation is a valuable part of Gliosis.

Continuous scarring can also prevent the surrounding neurons from recovering completely.

Causes of Gliosis

Gliosis occurs in response to diseases, traumas, or brain and spinal cord injuries.

The migration of macrophages and microglia to the lesion site is the primary process of Gliosis. This process is known as microgliosis, which occurs several hours immediately after the central nervous system injury.

Remyelination will occur several days after the microgliosis develops after the oligodendrocyte precursor cells have migrated to the lesion site.

The glial scar develops after the surrounding astrocytes have increased and become known as astrogliosis.

Gliosis occurs after the astrocytes have proliferated. The incidence is caused by several factors that cause brain and spinal cord injuries.

A stroke or cardiovascular accident is a medical emergency in which the brain has stopped functioning due to an interruption in the blood flow in this organ.

The interruption of the blood supply in any part of the brain can lead to the death of brain cells. The interruption in blood flow can occur in the brain and, therefore, in the process of Gliosis.

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the nervous system that involves the myelin sheath of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This inflammation interrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

The attack on the myelin sheath causes damage to the brain tissue and spinal cord that will later contribute to the Gliosis. Gliosis is the prominent feature of multiple sclerosis.

Other causes that contribute to this condition include:

  • Alzheimer.
  • Acute injury to the central nervous system.
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

symptom

The clinical manifestation of Gliosis may depend on the part of the brain and spinal cord that has been damaged or injured.

It can occur anywhere in the brain and spinal cord when the injury occurs. When this occurs in the sensory cortex, it can cause the patient to experience numbness and a tingling sensation. In contrast, if the Gliosis occurs in the motor cortex, the patient experiences body weakness.

If Gliosis occurs in the occipital lobe, it leads to visual deterioration of the patient.

Gliosis is a process of cellular and molecular changes in glial cells that usually occurs as a non-specific response to trauma and damage to the central nervous system.

Glial scars are created after the glial cells pick up all damaged or dead neurons.

The scar serves as the wall or barrier to contain damaged or dead neurons to protect surrounding healthy cells from damage from dead cells.

Gliosis in the occipital lobe can cause visual impairment in the patient.

The process of Gliosis

Gliosis includes a process that undergoes a series of changes in the cellular and molecular structure that generally take place over a few days. Glial cells are involved in the spinal cord and the brain.

It is the primary response that occurs after you experience any disease, damage, or injury to the brain.

The onset of Gliosis can be harmful or beneficial to your central nervous system. It helps the healthy cells surrounding the damage or disease, protecting them from further injury or damage.

This happens by containing unhealthy and damaged neurons so that no further damage can be done. The beneficial aspect of Gliosis is to protect your still-healthy cells from the results of inflammation and cell death.

On the opposite side, the onset of Gliosis is harmful because the scarring can continue and eventually lead to permanent or irreversible neuronal damage, which does not allow them to recover.

Treatment of Gliosis

Its treatment is directed toward the underlying causes since its process is the immune response to a brain injury or in the spinal cord.

There is no specific treatment that has been identified to treat Gliosis. There is a therapeutic approach aimed at minimizing the proliferation of astrocytes in the central nervous system so that the size of the scar that has been reduced is smaller. Formed.

Summary

Gliosis is a process in which glial scars are created when glial cells collect all dead or damaged neurons in the traumatized or injured part of the brain or spinal cord.

This scar formation is beneficial because it contains all damaged or dead neurons and protects the surrounding healthy cells from damage to these dead cells.

It can be caused due to some neuropathologies, Alzheimer’s disease, or even a stroke.

The process involves microgliosis, astrogliosis, and remyelination and has beneficial and detrimental effects.

The proliferation of glial cells must be contained to avoid further damage to the CNS, and there are some therapeutic methods available that claim to do the same.

Very little is known about this condition, and more research is being carried out to analyze the causes and effects of Gliosis with adequate precision.