Symptoms of a brain tumor

1 The essence of the pathology

Tumors of the brain are neoplasms of a different nature, located in the intracranial space and in the central spinal canal. Such formations may be benign or malignant. In the latter case, they grow as a result of pathological division of brain tissue cells( neurons, glial cells, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), glands( pituitary gland, epiphysis), skull, membranes, nerve fibers, vascular and lymphatic tissues. The clinical picture of the disease is largely determined by the localization of the tumor and pain. In general, the head tumor is considered to be a fairly rare event( no more than 1.6% of all detected tumors).

2 Types of the disease

Brain tumors are divided into 2 main types: the primary form that grows from the cells of the intracranial tissues, and the secondary form that results from the metastasis of the cancer of other internal organs.

Given the structure of tumors, the head tumor can be divided into the following varieties:

1. Neuroepithelial brain tumor: appears from the brain tissue, and the main representatives - ependymoma, glioma, astrocytoma( is the most common form - up to 55-60%).
2. Skin tumor of the head: it grows from the membranous brain tissues in the form of meningioma( constitutes up to 23-25% of all tumors).
3. Tumor or adenoma of the pituitary gland.
4. Tumors of the cranial nerves or neurinomas: most often benign.
5. Dysembryogenetic form: is generated by the process of embryogenesis.
6. Metastatic tumors in the head: the focus is outside the skull.

3 First signs of

Pain syndromes are characterized as the first signs of a head tumor. In the initial period, the head hurts in different places, not constantly, in the form of attacks when the position of the head changes, with a strong sneeze with some intensification in the morning. Characteristic sign - headache weakly reacts to the use of painkillers and spasmolytic drugs.

Other early symptoms of cancer are dizziness and nausea, which occur periodically in the form of seizures, regardless of physical activity and eating time. Rapid fatigue and drowsiness begin to appear. A person begins to notice the deterioration of memory, and suddenly the events that always caused impressions are forgotten. It becomes more difficult to concentrate attention. The first hallucinations can appear - sounds are heard and smells are felt which are not present in a reality.

Important initial signs of brain cancer are epileptic seizures( almost in 15% of all people who have fallen ill), although they have only heard about such people from others before. Such seizures are not justified - there are no injuries or any notable diseases. There begins to be a violation in the coordination of movement, which makes it difficult to conduct accurate work. Already at an early stage of a brain tumor, a person begins to notice psychological disorders that significantly change his personality characteristics. As the disease of the brain progresses, the symptoms become more and more vivid: the pains become more intense and take a permanent character, vomiting appears, which first even brings relief.

4 Clinical picture of the disease

The growth of the brain tumor leads to the appearance of a characteristic clinical picture. There are numerous signs of cancer. When the brain tumor develops, the symptoms are divided into 2 main groups: focal( primary) and general cerebral symptoms. If the first category depends on the location of the focus and its effect on the corresponding brain area, the second group is determined by hemodynamic anomalies( including ischemia) and intracranial pressure.

5 Symptoms of cerebral character

Brain cerebral signs are caused by compression of blood vessels, nerve fibers and brain tissue. The following main symptoms of this type can be distinguished:

1. Headaches are permanent in nature with high intensity. It can be blunt, bursting over the entire head or localized in the area of ​​the main focus. Pain is worse when coughing, sneezing, sudden movements, physical activity. It is practically not eliminated by analgesics and is only amenable to drugs. Headaches diminish only when intracranial pressure decreases.
2. Vomiting occurs when a head tumor begins to affect the vomiting receptor in the midbrain. With the development of a progressive course, the head tumor causes constant nausea and vomiting, and with intracranial hypertension, the vomiting reflex is activated, because of which the sick person can not eat or even drink. With an active gag reflex, getting into the tongue of any body causes severe vomiting.
3. Vertigo is caused by the compression of the cerebellar elements. It occurs in addition to pain and is accompanied by a disruption in the functioning of the vestibular analyzer. An overgrown tumor of the head causes such dizziness that it seems to the person that it rotates itself, and it instinctively turns the body in the opposite direction. Another cause of dizziness and pain is a decrease in blood flow due to vessel ischemia.

6 Symptoms of focal

Primary symptoms depend on where the head tumor is located. Taking into account localization, the main groups of characteristics are defined:

1. The change in sensitivity prevents real perception and reaction to external factors affecting the skin in different areas of the body. Skin ceases to feel pain, thermal effects. Tumor of the head leads to a state where a person loses the ability to feel parts of his body and loses control over their location in space. For example, closing your eyes, a sick person can not determine how the palm of an outstretched hand is located - down or up.
2. Memory loss occurs when the cerebral cortex is damaged, which forms the amount of memory. When a head tumor reaches a neglected stage, a person ceases to recognize loved ones and recognize letters.
3. Loss of motor ability, depending on the affected brain area, can be expressed in the paralysis of various parts of the trunk. When the channels of motor impulses from the cerebral cortex are broken, paralysis of the central type develops: an impulse from the spinal cord to the muscles comes in and they are in hypertension, but the control signal from the brain does not reach, which makes the necessary movements impossible.
4. Seizures of an epileptic type occur as a result of the onset of a foci of congestive excitation in the cerebral cortex.
5. Auditory and speech problems occur with damage to the auditory nerve and the brain area responsible for the formation of sounds. As a result, the headache is accompanied by loss of hearing and the transformation of sounds into unrecognizable noise.
6. Visual pathologies occur when the formation and the corresponding pains are concentrated in the region of the quadruple or optic nerve. In this case, a partial or total loss of visual perception is possible as a result of a violation of the channel for the transmission of the visual signal. The possibility of recognizing an object( especially a moving object) or a text is violated.
7. Violation of speech ability occurs when the affected area of ​​the brain is damaged. Speech impairment progresses as education grows and pain intensifies: speech becomes like childish babble, handwriting changes unrecognizably, and then speech becomes completely illegible and handwriting is unreadable.
8. Violation of the vegetative system is expressed in complete relaxation, the problem of getting up, an arbitrary fluctuation in the pulse and pressure.
9. Disturbance of the hormonal balance leads to a complete change in the hormonal background in terms of producing hypothalamic-pituitary-dependent hormones.
10. Coordination disorder occurs when the tumor and pain develop in the cerebellum and midbrain. Coordination is completely impaired, the campaign becomes unrecognizable, it is impossible to perform actions with closed eyes or in the dark. A screening test is to get the tip of the nose with the eyes closed.
11. Psychomotor pathologies cause complete distraction, irritability, inability to concentrate attention. Further progression of the disease leads to loss of orientation in space and time.
12. The occurrence of hallucinations is associated with a violation of the brain region responsible for the analysis of the visible pattern. Most often hallucinations are associated with a monotonous sound in the form of constant ringing in the ears, as well as the appearance of solar flares.

7 Diagnostic Methods

How to identify a tumor? This is a very difficult question to answer the special diagnosis. Diagnosis is carried out in stages: outpatient and inpatient. First of all, patient complaints, especially headache, are analyzed.

It is important where the headaches are localized and which character they have.

At the initial stage of the disease, the headache becomes the first real symptom.

Further studies include the analysis of activity of tendon reflexes, tactile and pain sensitivity. If there is a lack of coordination, a test is performed with getting the nose, stability in the Romberg pose is checked. If an initial diagnosis of a brain tumor is made, then computer and magnetic resonance imaging is performed. A microoperation for taking a tumor biopsy is performed for the final decision on conducting an operative intervention. Histological verification is performed to determine the regime of chemical and radiotherapy. One of the modern ways of obtaining a tissue sample is a stereotactic biopsy.

A brain tumor is a severe disease. Headache allows you to recognize the disease at an early stage, when there is a high probability of recovery. At a time when the headache becomes a constant scourge and focal symptoms appear, treatment is performed only in an operative way. Knowledge of all the manifestations of pathology allows us to identify the disease and the degree of its growth.