Internet Abuse

I Remember when the internet first came out, while I was still working, this was in many ways was frightening, and a little  intimidating, trying to get used to something  alien, and like a foreign language

However I never expected it to get to this stage these days, where  people rely on it 24 hours a day, and in some cases don't seem to be able to do without it.

Everyday we see people crossing roads etc, glued to their phone instead of watching where they are going.

In some cases television presenters who are supposed to be reading  the news, are reading what is on their Twitter account, something I consider to be very rude.

However these days we're seeing a lot of racial hatred on the internet,  something that I never expected to see.

Yes there has always been racial problems of one kind or another in the world, yet these days, every time you go on the internet, you see someone racially abusing someone else, and to me it has to be stopped.

Within the UK, a lot of this was wipped up by politicians etc, during the brexit vote.

Since then it has escalated, and got a lot worse, so much so that I wonder where it will ever end.

Politicians these days seem to blame everyone else for these problems, but if they looked closer to home they would find out who was to blame.

However of the politicians, who caused the trouble during the brexit vote, are well known to be of foreign Origin, and in some cases have dual passports, something which makes you wonder what is going on.

Looking back at racial hatred within the UK and the world at large, many people who assume that they are from one country or another, may find that whether they like it or not, that their ancestors were in fact immigrants at one stage in time.

I myself found this out by accident, a series of blood tests found that I had a vitamin deficiency.

My family doctor then explained, that this could have been caused by the fact that my ancestors came from a Mediterranean Country, or North Africa,  somewhere in the distant past, and they are in fact could it be dark skinned.

As we don't get a lot of sun in the North East of England, it has a knock on effect on my skin etc.

This came as quite a shock to me, but after a while I started to understand it, and I actually laugh about it, because it was something that I never expected.

I have often loved to go abroad and travel, now I am beginning to wonder if this is from my genes and foreign ancestry.

I  guess no one will never know

After doing family tree research, my father is horrified to hear that he could have been Anglo-Saxon, so now I try to guess, at what you would say to this.

To me it does not matter where we came from, because at the end of the day people have moved around since the very early days, and in the case of the UK, we have been invaded from the time of the Romans onwards, so who knows in reality,  who the original people were or are these days.

I honestly hope that this government gets to grips with the Brexit rubbish, and get things sorted out, so that all if this racial hatred stops, once and for all

We are all human, and no matter what religion or area we are from, we should be able to get on without fighting and hatred.

Cerebral Atrophy

Cerebral Atrophy: Is Your Brain Shrinking?

Symptoms, Causes, and Possible Treatments for Brain Atrophy

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By Esther Heerema, MSW  | Medically reviewed by Claudia Chaves, MD

Updated November 28, 2018

PASIEKA / Getty Images

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The term cerebral means brain and atrophy means loss of cells or shrinkage. When our brains atrophy, the neurons, and their connections waste away and the brain is literally getting smaller.

What Are the Symptoms of Brain Atrophy?

Atrophy in the brain may cause seizures, dementia (including memory loss, executive functioning impairment, and behavior changes) and aphasia (difficulty with expressing language or understanding it. Muscle weakness and hearing loss can also be symptoms of brain atrophy and should be reported to your physician for further investigation. 

What Causes Cerebral Atrophy?

Several different medical conditions can cause the brain to atrophy, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, stroke, cerebral palsy, Huntington's disease, and some infections such as AIDS and encephalitis.

What Parts of the Brain Are Typically Affected by Atrophy in Dementia?

In Alzheimer's disease, the hippocampus, which helps form new memories, and the cortex, which helps us think, plan and remember, are two areas that are especially affected by atrophy. However, the whole brain shrinks as well. Reduced brain volume can be seen on imaging studies which compare healthy brains to those with atrophy present.

In frontotemporal dementia, the frontal and temporal lobes generally see the most atrophy. Atrophy of these areas of the brain often initially present as personality and behavior changes, whereas Alzheimer's disease often initially affects memory.

A study sought to identify which areas of the brain are generally more atrophied in Lewy body dementia. Researchers found that the midbrain, hypothalamus and substantia innominata were generally the areas with the most atrophy. Being able to establish a pattern of where the atrophy is concentrated can potentially assist in correctly diagnosing the type of dementia.

In vascular dementia, the amount and location of the atrophy vary depending on whether there is a specific area that is affected by a stroke, for example, or multiple small blockages which are correlated with an overall reduced volume of the brain.

Brain atrophy is also present in Huntington's disease. Interestingly, research has found that locations and degrees of brain atrophy vary in Huntington's.

In Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, atrophy also varies significantly, with some cases showing almost no atrophy at all and others developing some generalized atrophy in the overall brain volume.

What Is 'Age-Related Atrophy'?

As people age, a small amount of brain atrophy is expected. Thus, you might hear the doctor explain your MRI scan as showing "age-related atrophy." One study found that in healthy participants without dementia between the ages of 60-91, some amount of brain atrophy developed in as little as one year's time.

Does Brain Atrophy Mean that Dementia Is Likely to Develop Soon?

It's important to know that while significant brain atrophy is a sign of a problem, research supports the idea that age-related brain atrophy does not necessarily mean that dementia is about to develop. Scientists also concluded that the speed of atrophy is more of a factor than the fact that some atrophy is present. In other words, if brain volume declines more quickly than normal, this may indicate a concern.

Can Brain Atrophy Be Prevented or Reversed?

Some research has shown that physical exercise can reduce the speed of atrophy or even reverse some of the atrophy in certain areas of the brain. 

Other research suggests that supplementation with vitamin B (including vitamin B12, folic acid, and vitamin B6) also helps slow brain atrophy.

A correlation between cerebral atrophy and diet has also been found in some research. For example, in one study, greater brain atrophy (shrinkage) was found in participants who least followed the Mediterranean diet. 

A Word from Verywell

While some causes of cerebral atrophy are outside of our control, others may be impacted by our life choices. We at Verywell hope that learning about these causes and risk reduction strategies will encourage you on your journey towards good brain health. 

I had a scan done in 2008, and it said that there was evidence of Cerebral atrophy and TIA, etc, but nothing was explained, until we asked our family doctor what it all meant.

He said it was brain shrinkage, but was not age related