Salman Khan suffering from Brain Aneurysm; here`s what you need to know about it

Celebrated Indian actor Salman Khan is known for his wit on talk shows, but this last weekend, he chose to reveal a little about his health, and that has surprised many fans over the last few days. 

While the `Bodyguard` actor revealed on `The Great Indian Kapil Show season 3` that he suffered from Trigeminal Neuralgia, the actor also spoke about how he is also dealing with a brain aneurysm and even Arteriovenous Malformations. 

Being one of the few superstars to talk about his health issues, mid-day spoke to Dr Dipesh Pimpale, consultant neurologist at KIMS Hospitals in Thane and Dr Vishal Chafale, who is the consultant interventional neurology at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai to dissect the causes of brain aneurysm. They not highlight the effects but also the treatment and who is the most affected with it.

What is a brain aneurysm? 
Pimpale: Brain aneurysm are caused by thinning of arterial walls. This is because of some pathology. The arteries get thinned and the outpositions are formed which leads to the formation of aneurysm. 

Chafale: A brain aneurysm is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel within the brain, most often at arterial junctions in the Circle of Willis. The weakened vessel wall can rupture, leading to subarachnoid haemorrhage—a life-threatening condition. Many aneurysms remain asymptomatic until rupture occurs, warranting early detection in high-risk individuals.

What are the causes of brain aneurysm? 
Pimpale: Brain aneurysm suddenly present with sudden headache whenever the aneurysm burst which leads to outposing. 

Chafale: Brain aneurysms result from congenital vessel wall weaknesses, hypertension, smoking, trauma, or infections. Genetic disorders like Ehlers-Danlos or polycystic kidney disease increase risk. Chronic hemodynamic stress weakens the arterial wall over time. Aneurysm formation often involves a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental insults that compromise vascular integrity.

What are the effects of brain aneurysm? 
Pimpale: Brain aneurysm is many a times asymptomatic but when it burst suddenly it leads to seepage of blood into the brain which leads to intense pain, headache. 

Chafale: Un-ruptured aneurysms may cause headaches, vision disturbances, or nerve compression. Ruptured aneurysms lead to sudden, severe headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, or loss of consciousness. Survivors may suffer paralysis, memory loss, seizures, or death. Immediate intervention remains crucial as ruptured aneurysms carry a high mortality and disability risk.

What are the treatment option for brain aneurysm? 
Pimpale: Treatment options for brain aneurysm includes medical treatment, non-surgical therapy, surgical therapy. 

Medical treatment includes supportive measures with some of the drugs to stabilize the blood pressure and to prevent the vasospasm. 

It includes treatment with calcium channel blockers and treatment of seizures. Surgical treatment includes microsurgical techniques in which the aneurysm is clipped. 

There are endovascular treatment which are the recent advances where the endovascular coiling of this aneurysm is done without opening the skull.

Chafale: Treatment includes endovascular coiling or surgical clipping, depending on aneurysm size, location, and rupture status. Un-ruptured aneurysms with high rupture risk also warrant intervention. Neurosurgical and neuro-interventional teams assess individual risk-benefit profiles. Supportive care includes blood pressure control, seizure prophylaxis, and intensive neuro-critical monitoring in rupture cases.

What is the age group affected by it? Does it differ based on gender?
Pimpale: Each group has six related incidents to start the treatment. Generally, cerebral aneurysm affects women and younger age of less than 40 years. Although women are more affected than the men, roughly the overall female to male ratio is 1.6 is to 1. 

Chafale: Brain aneurysms typically present between 40 and 60 years. Women face a slightly higher risk, especially postmenopausal, possibly due to hormonal vascular changes. Although aneurysms can occur at any age, incidence increases with advancing age and vascular risk factors, warranting vigilant screening in high-risk populations.

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