Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (Deep Dive): Brainstem Failure

Описание: Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease defined by progressive brainstem and basal ganglia degeneration. This documentary-style deep dive examines the biological mechanisms behind PSP, including tau protein pathology, neuronal loss, and the resulting failure of vertical gaze, posture, swallowing, and motor control.

Unlike Parkinson’s disease, PSP does not originate primarily from dopamine loss. Instead, abnormal tau accumulation progressively destroys neurons in the midbrain, pons, globus pallidus, and frontal circuits. As these structures deteriorate, patients develop early balance failure, gaze paralysis, speech impairment, and rapid neurological decline.

This episode traces PSP from its earliest clinical signs through silent progression and irreversible neurological failure. Symptoms are presented in strict causal order: structural degeneration leads to motor dysfunction, followed by loss of voluntary control and eventual systemic failure. The focus remains clinical and mechanistic, without metaphor or dramatization.

Pathology of Fear documents real neurological diseases through a medical-documentary lens. This episode is intended for viewers interested in neurology, medical science, neurodegenerative disorders, and the biological mechanisms behind fatal brain diseases.

VIDEO CHAPTERS

00:16 Clinical Examination: Vertical Gaze Failure
01:20 What Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Is
02:05 Tau Protein Pathology and Neuronal Death
03:45 Midbrain Degeneration and Vertical Gaze Palsy
04:47 Basal Ganglia Failure and Poor Levodopa Response
05:42 Early Falls and Brainstem Postural Instability
06:24 Why Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Is Misdiagnosed
07:01 Pedunculopontine Nucleus and Gait Freezing
07:46 Speech and Swallowing Motor Failure
08:28 Brainstem Network Expansion of Tau Pathology
09:12 Loss of Postural Reflexes and Backward Falls
10:37 Akinetic Failure Without Tremor
12:03 Intact Intention, Absent Execution
13:27 Progressive Dysarthria and Aspiration Risk
14:56 Complete Vertical Gaze Palsy and Visual Restriction
15:45 Frontal–Subcortical Executive Dysfunction
16:38 Autonomic Instability and Physiological Decline
17:17 Imaging Findings and the Hummingbird Sign
17:58 Crossing the Biological Point of No Return
18:50 Brainstem Failure Beyond Movement Control
19:43 Swallowing Breakdown and Aspiration Pneumonia Risk
21:19 Loss of Postural Integration and Assisted Mobility
22:43 Global Ocular Motor Failure
23:28 Facial Rigidity and Loss of Expressive Output
24:07 Preserved Awareness With Motor Incapacity
26:16 Irreversible Loss of Regulatory Control
27:50 Loss of Agency With Preserved Consciousness
29:03 Axial Rigidity and System-Wide Coordination Collapse
30:38 Visual Exploration Failure Without Cortical Blindness
31:51 End-Stage Swallowing and Nutritional Dependence
33:36 Supportive Care Without Disease Modification
35:31 Stable Severe Disability Without Recovery
37:23 Dissociation of Perception and Action
39:12 Autonomic Failure and Terminal Vulnerability
42:36 End-Stage Network Collapse
45:26 Final Aftermath of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
1:06:03 Pathology of Fear — This Fear Is Real