- 04 Apr, 2023
- Dr. Arun Rajeswaran
- No comment
Everything you need to know about the Brain Tumor
Causes Of Brain Tumors:
The exact causes of brain tumors have unknown origins, however some risk factors include:
- Age: Common in older adults, possible at any age.
- Family history: Certain types hereditary, passed down through families.
- Radiation exposure: High levels increase risk, especially in therapy.
- Immune system disorders: Higher risk, like HIV/AIDS.
- Cause often unknown: Unclear origins for many brain tumors.
Treatment For Brain Tumors:
Treating brain tumors involves considering factors like tumor specifics, patient health, and offers options like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
- Surgery: First-line treatment, removes tumor partially or completely, relieves brain pressure.
- Radiation therapy: High-energy radiation kills cells, shrinks tumors, used with surgery or chemotherapy.
- Chemotherapy: Drugs kill cancer cells, used alone or with radiation therapy or surgery.
- Steroids: Reduce brain swelling, relieve symptoms like headaches, seizures in Brain Tumor patients.
Conclusion:
Understanding brain tumors symptoms is crucial for early detection and effective management. Recognizing brain tumor warning signs such as headaches, seizures, cognitive impairments, and sensory changes is vital for timely medical intervention. Despite unknown origins, factors like age, genetics, and radiation exposure contribute to risk. Treatment options such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and steroids aim to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life for brain tumor patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brain tumours cause symptoms through two main mechanisms: direct disruption of the brain region where they grow, and raised intracranial pressure (ICP) from the tumour mass or associated swelling. General raised-ICP symptoms which can occur with tumours anywhere in the brain include persistent headache (classically worse in the morning and on bending), nausea and vomiting, blurred or double vision (from pressure on cranial nerves), and progressive cognitive or personality changes. Seizures can occur with any cortical tumour as the abnormal tissue irritates the brain’s electrical activity.
Migraine headaches typically have a well-established pattern, are often unilateral with preceding aura, respond to specific migraine medications, and occur without persistent neurological changes between episodes. Brain tumour headaches are new, progressive, often associated with additional neurological symptoms (weakness, vision changes, cognitive decline, or new seizures), present upon waking, or worsen with Valsalva manoeuvres (coughing, sneezing, bending). Any headache that is ‘new’ or ‘different’ for a patient especially if accompanied by neurological symptoms or systemically unwell warrants brain imaging to exclude a tumour.
Yes, and these are often the earliest or most prominent symptoms of tumours in the frontal and temporal lobes. Frontal lobe tumours can cause marked personality changes including apathy, disinhibition, irritability, inappropriate behaviour, reduced initiative, and poor impulse control that are noticed by family members long before the patient seeks medical help. Temporal lobe tumours may cause anxiety, depression, memory impairment, or déjà vu experiences. Psychiatric symptoms in older adults without a prior mental health history, particularly when accompanied by headaches or cognitive decline, should prompt brain imaging to exclude a structural cause.
