When a person hits their head, CSF acts like the airbag in a car and can sometimes keep the brain from slamming into the inside of the skull. However, when a person hits their head very hard – in a car accident, for example – the CSF cannot protect the brain from hitting the skull. This can cause concussions, bleeding in the brain, brain damage, or even death.
The brain's cells do chemical reactions to change one chemical to another chemical that the brain needs. Sometimes, after a chemical reaction, chemicals that the brain does not need are left over. These chemicals are called "waste products." For example, when the brain's cells use oxygen and glucose (sugar) to create energy, carbon dioxide (CO) is left over. Too much carbon dioxide can poison the brain.
To keep waste products from building up in the CSF, the choroid plexuses make new CSF about four times a day. The old CSF drains out into the bloodstream, bringing waste products and toxins with it. In this way, the CSF rinses things that could hurt the brain out into the bloodstream. The bloodstream can then carry these chemicals to organs that can get rid of them, like the kidneys and the lungs. For example, the bloodstream carries carbon dioxide to the lungs, where it can be breathed out.
Doctors can use samples of CSF to find out if a person has a brain infection, like meningitis, encephalitis, or syphilis. CSF samples can also show bleeding from certain parts of the brain. Swelling in the brain, caused by some inflammatory diseases like multiple sclerosis, can show in a CSF sample as well.
Usually, doctors take samples of CSF by doing a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).
Normal CSF should be clear and colorless, with no red blood cells, and very few white blood cells.
Signs of a brain infection include:
Protein levels that are higher than normal can be a sign of inflammation in the brain. However, they can also be a sign of other problems, like a bleed in the brain; a brain tumor; epilepsy; and "acute alcoholism."
Cancer cells in the CSF are a sign that a person has brain cancer, or has cancer that started somewhere else and spread to the brain.
Head injuries and some diseases can make too much CSF build up in the brain. This is called hydrocephalus. The extra fluid puts pressure on (squeezes) the brain. This is called increased intracranial pressure. If the pressure gets high enough, the brain's blood vessels get crushed, and blood cannot get to the brain. If a person's brain does not get enough blood and oxygen, they will become unconscious and their brain cells will die. Eventually, the person will die.
Without treatment, 6 out of every 10 people with hydrocephalus will die. The rest will have physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and/or other brain problems.
Some problems can cause CSF to leak out through a hole or tear in the dura mater (the layer of the meninges that is next to the skull and the bones of the spinal cord). CSF leaks are usually a complication of a lumbar puncture or certain kinds of surgery on the head, neck, or brain. However, an injury to the head or spine can also cause a CSF leak. Sometimes, doctors cannot find a cause for a CSF leak.
Most people with CSF leaks get better on their own, after the hole in the dura mater heals. However, some CSF leaks can cause serious complications:
Bodil Malmsten
Bodil Malmsten (19 August 1944 – 5 February 2016) was a Swedish poet and novelist. She wrote over fifteen books from 1977 to her death. Her best known book was the English translation of "Priset på vatten i Finistère" ("The Price of Water in Finistère") which was awarded Book of the Week by BBC Radio 4.
Malmsten was born in Bjärme, Jämtland. Her grandfather was designer and architect Carl Malmsten (1888–1972).
Malmsten died from cancer on 5 February 2016 in Stockholm. She was aged 71.
Mohamed Fahmy
Mohamed Fahmy () is a Canadian-Egyptian journalist. He was born in Cairo. Fahmy was in prison in Egypt for two years. When he came out, he started the Fahmy Foundation for free speech.
Mohamed Fahmy was a producer for CNN and a writer for the "Los Angeles Times". He was also the Cairo bureau chief for Al-Jazeera's English channel.
Fahmy was arrested on December 29, 2013 with two other journalists, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, in their hotel in Cairo. This was after General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became president of Egypt. Sisi replaced the elected president, Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood. The three reporters were accused of helping the Muslim Brotherhood. At the time, Fahmy worked for Al-Jazeera, which is owned by the government of Qatar. Qatar supported the Muslim Brotherhood, even after Morsi was out of power.
In January 2015, Australian Peter Greste went back to Australia. But Fahmy and Baher had a new trial and got three more years in prison. Finally, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney helped them. Because of world pressure, President Sisi said they could go free.
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Premier League club Liverpool. He also managed and played for 1. FSV Mainz 05, and later managed Borussia Dortmund from 2008 to 2015. Klopp is responsible for revolutionising Liverpool FC, and won their 6th Champions League and first Premier League.
Klopp was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. He is married and has two children. He is a Protestant Christian.
Eddy Wally
Eddy Wally (born Eduard René Van De Walle; 12 July 1932 – 6 February 2016) was a Belgian singer. He was nicknamed the "Voice of Europe". He was best known for his hits "Chérie" (1966), "Als marktkramer ben ik geboren" (1969) and "Ik spring uit een vliegmachien" (1996). He was also a popular meme in 2014.
Wally was born in Zelzate, East Flanders. He was married to Mariëtte Roegiers until her death in October 2012. They had a daughter, Marina Wally (born 1957), who became a singer. He retired in 2012 after poor health.
Wally died from a brain haemorrhage on 6 February 2016 in Zelzate. He was aged 83.
Mika Waltari
Mika Toimi Waltari () (19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer. He is best known for his best-selling novel "The Egyptian" (). His career lasted over 40 years. He wrote at least 29 novels, 15 novellas, 6 collections of stories or fairy tales, 6 collections of poetry and 26 plays. Waltari wrote screenplays, radio plays, non-fiction, translations, and hundreds of reviews and articles. He is also internationally the best-known Finnish writer. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Waltari graduated from the University of Helsinki. He first studied theology, then history and languages. His career as writer started with religious poems and horror short stories. His first novel "Suuri illusioni" ('The Great Illusion') was his fifth work and a big success. It has been compared to the famous works of the 1920s by Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Waltari's chief work, which made him internationally famous, was published after World War II. This was the large novel "Sinuhe Egyptilainen" (UK title: Sinuhe the Egyptian; US title: The Egyptian). The story is placed in ancient Egypt. Waltari knew a lot about life there. Between the lines one can read a story about Christianity and history. The book contains comparison of idealism and realism but it does not tell which of them wins. It became popular also as a Hollywood movie. In later life he worked as a member of the Academy of Finland. He never finished his last novel on the Knights of Malta due to illness. First awarded in 1979, the Mika Waltari Award is named in his honor.
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon runs through Bristol. The river is the 19th longest river in the United Kingdom. It is 75 miles (121km) long. The source of the river is in the Severn Estuary. The river rises in the county of Gloucestershire. It then flows through Wiltshire, for example in the city of Salisbury.
Sam Spence