When TGF-β activity goes unchecked, it alters the structure of the small blood vessels in the brain, increasing an individuals risk of stroke and other neurological abnormalities. Abnormally increased TGF-β activity is also suspected to be involved in the alopecia and lumbago seen in CARASIL patients, but that has not been confirmed and the mechanism is not yet known.CARASIL is a disease characterized by damage to the small blood vessels of the brain. When blood vessels in the brain are damaged, blood flow can be reduced or stopped leading to stroke. It can also lead to a variety of different symptoms depending on what area of the brain has lost its blood supply. This is what causes the spasticity in the limbs, slurred speech, urinary incontinence, and dysarthria seen in some patients.Progressive damage to and loss of the white matter, or myelinated areas, in the brain leads to some of the other neurological symptoms, such as forgetfulness progressing to dementia, mood changes, confusion, and apathy. Diagnosis
CARASIL can be tentatively diagnosed by a thorough medical history, examination of symptoms, differential diagnoses, and MRI scans of the brain. Diffuse white matter changes (leukoencephalopathy) and multiple lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia of the thalamus are usually determining factors seen on MRI scans of affected individuals. Further genetic testing must be used to confirm the diagnosis.It is suspected that there are many cases of CARASIL that have not been diagnosed because of the similarities with other neurological disorders.
Ghost sickness is a cultural belief among some traditional indigenous peoples in North America, notably the Navajo, and some Muscogee and Plains cultures, as well as among Polynesian peoples. People who are preoccupied and/or consumed by the deceased are believed to suffer from ghost sickness. Reported symptoms can include general weakness, loss of appetite, suffocation feelings, recurring nightmares, and a pervasive feeling of terror. The sickness is attributed to ghosts or, occasionally, to witches or witchcraft. Cultural background
In the Muscogee (Creek) culture, it is believed that everyone is a part of an energy called Ibofanga. This energy supposedly results from the flow between mind, body, and spirit. Illness can result from this flow being disrupted. Therefore, their "medicine is used to prevent or treat an obstruction and restore the peaceful flow of energy within a person". Purification rituals for mourning "focus on preventing unnatural or prolonged emotional and physical drain. "The traditional Native American grief resolution process is qualitatively different from those usually seen in mainstream Western cultures. In 1881, there was a federal ban on some of the traditional mourning rituals practised by the Lakota and other tribes. Lakota expert Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart proposes that the loss of these rituals may have caused the Lakota to be "further predisposed to the development of pathological grief".