Kim Kardashian has ‘holes in her brain’ should you be worried too?

if you saw Kim KardashianFelt a shock at the latest health update and the phrase “hole on the brain“, you weren’t alone. It’s a word that sounds devastating. Yet on the type of scan she had, a hole doesn’t necessarily mean missing tissue. It signals an area functioning at a lower level because it’s getting less blood and oxygen, often due to age, stress or other long-term effects. This difference matters. True holes look very different and usually result from serious disease.

In footage from her reality show The Kardashians, her doctor explains the “hole” on brain scanThey have been described as areas of “low activity”. These were found on a single-photon emission tomography, or SPECT, scan, which uses a small dose of a radioactive tracer and a special camera to show how well individual parts move. Brain Are working.

Around the same time, she was also Diagnosed with brain aneurysmDiscovered during an MRI scan. aneurysm There is a structural weakness in the blood vessel and it is unrelated to the low-activity patches seen on SPECT.

These “holes” or “dents” are actually a normal part of brain aging and can appear in people as early as their forties. They don’t appear in everyone, but they are a common feature of midlife scans and reflect reduced blood flow in small, localized areas. With normal aging, the brain loses about five percent of its volume every decade, even without disease.

Low activity on the spectrum can arise for several reasons.

chronic stressFor example, it causes macroscopic changes in the brain, including changes in the connections between neurons. Although there is no evidence or suggestion that drug use plays any role in Kardashian’s results, recreational drugs can also affect brain function. It has been observed that cocaine dependence accelerates tissue loss at approximately twice the rate of normal aging, and opioids, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and ketamine have each been linked to measurable structural changes.

true brain hole

True holes involve actual tissue loss, and the causes are far more serious. Fortunately, many are extremely rare. Some infections destroy local brain tissue, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, where a misfolded protein triggers widespread cell death, creating a sponge-like appearance. Bacterial infections such as staphylococcus and streptococcus can form abscesses that leave visible cavities. These infections usually spread from the ears, teeth or sinuses and are medical emergencies.

Another rare cause is Taenia solium, a pork tapeworm whose larvae can live in the brain and deprive the tissues of nutrients. This parasite gained attention when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the US Secretary of Health, revealed that he experienced brain fog and memory problems due to an infection.

More common causes include strokeWhich affects 12 million people globally every year. In both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, the blood supply is disrupted and tissue may die, leaving holes or areas of atrophy on the scan. Atrophy means that the tissue has shrunk because cells have died or stopped working.

Conditions that disrupt fluid balance can also damage tissue. In hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid accumulates inside the brain cavities, which compresses and sometimes destroys the surrounding tissue if left untreated. Fluid normally carries nutrients and removes waste, so blocked flow can be devastating.

Aggressive brain tumors such as glioblastoma can cause cavities by crowding out healthy tissue and diverting the surrounding blood supply to tumor cells. Treatments such as radiation therapy can damage even healthy neurons because radiation is toxic to brain cells.

These conditions often cause swelling called edema, including vasogenic edema, where leakage of fluid increases pressure on surrounding tissues. Traumatic brain injury is another cause of progressive tissue loss. Repeated head trauma can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is seen in American football, rugby, and boxing, as well as some athletes involved in mixed martial arts. Recent research shows that one in three American football players believe they have symptoms associated with CTE.

These conditions are a far cry from the findings of Kardashian’s SPECT scan. True holes reflect actual tissue loss and usually come with obvious neurological symptoms. Treatment cannot always reverse the damage, but early medical evaluation can control symptoms and slow further deterioration. Anyone experiencing memory loss, difficulty concentrating, or problems with movement should seek medical advice.

The low-activity patches seen on Kardashian’s scans fall into a different category. They do not reflect missing tissue and are not expected to cause symptoms. Instead, they are usually associated with aging, stress, or long-term lifestyle factors rather than disease.