Brain atrophy

For a lay person:

Brain atrophy means a loss of brain cells and the connections between them, so that the brain shrinks. Some shrinkage happens with normal ageing, but more marked atrophy can come from dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, injury, alcohol misuse or other illnesses. Symptoms depend on the cause and the areas affected, and may include memory problems, slowed thinking and changes in movement or behaviour.

For a trained medical person:

Cerebral atrophy is a structural finding of volume loss, generalised or focal, rather than a diagnosis, and is seen in neurodegenerative disease, cerebrovascular disease, traumatic brain injury, demyelinating disease, chronic alcohol use and some metabolic or infectious conditions. It is identified on CT or MRI and must be interpreted against age-expected change and the clinical picture. Management is directed at the underlying cause, vascular risk-factor control and rehabilitation.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook gives Chinese herbal formulas for this condition without a full pattern differentiation. Treatment still follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: See a doctor for new or worsening memory, speech, balance or personality changes, and get emergency care for sudden weakness, facial drooping, speech difficulty or severe headache.