The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate animals. The brain is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. The brain is the most complex organ in a vertebrate's body. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 15–33 billion neurons, each connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons.



Physiologically, the function of the brain is to exert centralized control over the other organs of the body. It coordinate thought, emotion, behavior, movement and sensation. A complicated highway system of nerves connects your brain to the rest of your body, so communication can occur in split seconds. While all the parts of your brain work together, each part is responsible for a specific function — controlling everything from your heart rate to your mood.

When your brain is damaged, it can affect many different things, including your memory, your sensation, and even your personality. Brain disorders include any conditions or disabilities that affect your brain. This includes those conditions that are caused by illness, genetics, or traumatic injury.

Different Types of Brain Disorders

Brain Injuries

Examples of brain injuries include:

• hematomas
• blood clots
• contusions, or bruising of brain tissue
• cerebral edema, or swelling inside the skull
• concussions
• strokes

Brain Tumors

A brain tumor or intracranial neoplasm occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant or cancerous tumors and benign tumors. Cancerous tumors can be divided into primary tumors that start within the brain, and secondary tumors that have spread from somewhere else, known as brain metastasis tumors. All types of brain tumors may produce symptoms that vary depending on the part of the brain involved. These symptoms may include headaches, seizures, problem with vision, vomiting, and mental changes.

TREATMENT

When a brain tumor is diagnosed, given the location of primary solid neoplasms of the brain in most cases a "do-nothing" option is usually not presented. Neurosurgeons take the time to observe the evolution of the neoplasm before proposing a management plan to the patient and his/her relatives. These various types of treatment are available depending on neoplasm type and location and may be combined to give the best chances of survival:

Surgery: complete or partial resection of the tumor with the objective of removing as many tumor cells as possible. Radiotherapy: the most commonly used treatment for brain tumors; the tumor is irradiated with beta, x rays or gamma rays. Chemotherapy: is a treatment option for cancer, however it is not always used to treat brain tumors as the blood-brain barrier can prevent some drugs from reaching the cancerous cells.

Survival rates in primary brain tumors depend on the type of tumor, age, functional status of the patient, the extent of surgical tumor removal and other factors specific to each case