There are many kinds of “everyday” toxins in the environment that can harm your brain. Some of the more common ones include:

Once they enter the body, toxins are carried through the blood stream into the brain. Toxins can impair brain function and even cause death. The degree and frequency of exposure to a toxic substance will impact the extent of brain injury from it. Chemotherapy treatments for cancer can also have a residual toxic effect on the brain.

Toxic brain injury can cause symptoms that include:

These symptoms can be mistaken as being caused by other disorders, such as:

Brain SPECT imaging is incredibly useful for uncovering the source of symptoms especially when a cause, such as toxic exposure, has been overlooked.

Brain Infection

Bacteria, parasites, viruses and other infections can wreak havoc on the brain, quickly. These infectious agents release toxins, which cause inflammation, reduce blood flow and impair healthy brain function. These are some of the illnesses that can lead to brain infections:

Brain infections can cause a multitude of symptoms, including:

Because these symptoms resemble those of other disorders, people with brain infections are often misdiagnosed with:

Meanwhile, without the appropriate treatment—the infection persists, causing a potential worsening of symptoms and further injury to the brain.

The Importance of Brain SPECT Imaging in Diagnosing and Treating Brain Toxicity and Infections

On SPECT scans, infections in the brain can appear as an overall pattern of significantly high or low blood flow and look similar to a brain affected by toxins. With the sensitivity of SPECT, we can identify a potentially infectious process in the brain and get the patient onto the right course of treatment. SPECT can also show recovery after treatment.