What is a cyst anyway? And why are they talking about her so much? This neoplasm can suddenly appear in any organ or tissue. Usually there is nothing to worry about, since this is not cancer, but just a capsule. But a cyst found in the brain is a serious diagnosis. After all, the brain cavity is limited, there is enough space in the skull only for the necessary structures - brain cells, arachnoid membrane and cerebrospinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid).
A cyst differs from cancer in that it appears as a result of abnormal physiological processes or hormone problems. But cancer is already more serious formations that grow uncontrollably and according to completely different principles.
Brain cyst. Dimensions. Risks
According to the medical dictionary, a cyst is a benign formation, a cavity filled with fluid. And there are pseudocysts - they are distinguished by the absence of their own shell and legs.
Formation is usually not detected for a long time, until it grows so much that it presses down on adjacent areas of the brain. Tillthe cyst is small, the person does not feel it.
The size of the cyst is different. It can be only a few millimeters in diameter, or it can grow up to several centimeters. Small sacs with liquid are observed by a specialist. Surgeons don't touch them, because brain surgery is too dangerous. To affect such a finely organized substance as the brain is to expose the life and he alth of the patient to excessive risk. Therefore, doctors do not take on such responsibility.
Causes of cyst formation
The reason for the appearance of a brain cyst should be identified by the doctor after a detailed interview of the patient to compile a medical history, and after receiving the examination data.
In most cases, a cyst forms when:
- brain injury;
- infectious disease;
- hemorrhagic stroke;
- disorders of CSF circulation;
- high blood pressure;
- in children, the cause may be those infections that a woman had during the gestation period. Such infections include herpes, toxoplasmosis and rubella.
This bubble in the brain does not appear from scratch. CSF circulation is of great importance. That is, the constant renewal of intracranial special fluid. If there are abnormal processes in the brain, and the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid begins to exceed normal cranial pressure, then the fluid has nowhere else to go in the brain. And she forms a cyst.
Another cause of brain cysts, which is little studied, but also hasplace, - autoimmune processes. That is, the aggression of leukocytes against the body's own cells.
MRI of the brain gives a very accurate picture. Any vascular formations, arachnoid cysts of the brain with a size of 3 millimeters or more - the doctor will immediately see all these anomalies. But the cause may remain unknown, especially if the person went to the doctor only when he was already exhausted by headaches and various attacks lasting several years.
Cyst of the brain. Symptoms
Like any disease, cystic formations are detected by a number of symptoms that the doctor compares with the test data. A person himself can analyze his condition and, by a number of signs, suspect a problem. But the diagnosis is still made exclusively by a neurologist.
Symptoms that indicate the presence of a cyst include:
- frequent severe cephalgia (headaches);
- periodic leg cramps;
- noise in the head;
- sleep disorders;
- vomit;
- coordination problems;
- Temporary visual dysfunctions are also possible.
When the vial of liquid grows, a person begins to have severe epileptic attacks, in the morning the patient often finds traces of blood from the nose. Sometimes there are hallucinations and thought disorders. From headaches and exhaustion, a person simply loses consciousness.
In such cases, you should immediately contact the MRI diagnostic center and go to the doctor with the scan data.
Consequences and threat to he alth
How are weit was said that small cysts did not lead to any adverse outcomes. But those formations that grow uncontrollably due to anomalies in the brain soon appear and pose a threat.
What is the harm of a brain cyst? The consequences for such patients are difficult to predict. This is in many cases hydrocephalus, compression of the brain, paresis, circulatory disorders. Often there are problems with sleep and with the psyche. If this is a child who is just developing, he will have some difficulties, and possibly defects in development.
Types of cysts
There are 2 main types of education. The first type is a cyst in the deep layers of the brain, directly in the gray matter or in the ventricles - retrocerebellar. The second type is arachnoid, which is located above the gray matter in the area of the arachnoid. Since the arachnoid does not affect the vital parts of the brain, it is not so dangerous.
One more neoplasm is known - a cyst of the choroid plexus of the brain. They are more typical for newly born children. But they are not dangerous.
Porencephalic cyst - is formed as a result of atherosclerotic changes and appears already at the age of 55-65 years. Acquired and congenital cysts are also separated in the clinic. The size of the brain cyst in children and adolescents is determined using MRI.
Arachnoid cyst
Arachnoid cyst of the brain occurs for unknown reasons in men more often than in women. In her capsule is alwayscerebrospinal fluid. Cerebral arachnoid cyst leads to various dysfunctions of our main controller - the brain.
In general, education catches up with someone who has had one of the following infections affecting the central nervous system:
- meningitis;
- cytomegalovirus;
- arachnoiditis;
- chickenpox with complications.
May have vision or hearing problems. A person suddenly has nervous breakdowns, haunted by fears. The patient is concerned about numbness or cramps in the limbs.
There are several varieties of such a cyst:
- convexital cyst;
- basilar;
- posterior fossa cyst.
According to statistics, the last named cyst is the most common. Neuralgia or paralysis of the facial nerve, and severe pain in the back of the head are among its invariable signs. Sometimes the patient may see hallucinations. And this should alert.
Spinal arachnoid cyst - one that is localized in the spinal cord. And there is such a subspecies as an optochiasmal arachnoid cyst. With it, the visual area gradually narrows and the person eventually loses sight completely.
Cyst in newborns
Education is possible already at the stage of intrauterine development due to various pathogenic factors that attack the mother's body. It is important to take tests on time in order to know in advance about the problem. Sometimes such formations resolve themselves in the fetus. This should happen by 20-30 weeks. It happens that education itself passes through severalmonths after birth. But all this time it is important to keep the child under supervision. In general, a lot of children are born with a cyst, but this should not panic the mother.
A brain cyst in a child often has a favorable prognosis. If the cyst is dermoid, that is, congenital, and is located in the deep layers of the brain (near the ventricles, in the body of the epiphysis or pituitary gland), and the child suffers from many seizures, then the operation is inevitable.
To diagnose such a formation in an infant, a conventional ultrasound is performed. It is completely painless and effective. But on an MRI, you need to lie still, which is difficult to achieve from a baby.
You can treat a child only with those drugs that are indicated by a doctor. It is impossible to allow amateur performance and the use of any folk methods.
Retrocerebellar formation. Features
The location and size of the retrocerebellar cyst of the brain is important. It is also important to start treatment as soon as possible. In addition to the inflammatory process due to infection, the cause of this cyst may be a stroke or a surgical operation already performed on the brain, which later gave complications. Such cavities, if they rapidly develop and fill with fluid, need to be shunted. However, when cysts are located very close to the ventricles of the brain, they are still not touched.
Retrocerebellar cyst of the brain is quite rare. Due to the fact that pathological processes continue to develop and brain cells die, a person’s headaches are verycruel.
Such a patient is forbidden to be nervous, go outside in extreme heat and walk for a long time. Doctors also do not allow to sit for a long time near electronic gadgets, watching TV. You can not strain, and in general the life of the patient becomes unbearable. But the risk of mortality with a growing retrocerebellar deep cyst is high, so these restrictions are justified.
In such cases, the only way to deal with the problem is to remove the brain cyst.
It is better to immediately consult a doctor and find out the causes of such symptoms immediately when a headache appears, which neither analgesics nor rest can relieve.
Cysts of other parts of the brain
There are many departments in the brain, and a cyst can form in any of them. According to the symptoms, an experienced doctor often predicts exactly where it is located. For example, a cerebellar cyst makes itself felt by a violation of coordination of movements. It becomes difficult for a person to walk due to the fact that he often loses his sense of balance. This is usually not a he alth hazard. But headaches and balance problems clearly interfere with the patient.
Drowsiness and decreased visual acuity are inherent in the pineal cyst - a gland that is responsible for the production of the sleep hormone. It is formed when, when the passage of the gland is blocked, the hormone melatonin produced cannot be released. Then a sac filled with this hormone appears and gradually grows.
Cyst of the pineal gland of the brain or epiphysis is very rare. And while it is small, the patient will not feel any manifestations for years. But reaching greatsize, the cyst interferes with the work of the gland and disrupts the brain due to the same increased cranial pressure. Of course, a lack of melatonin will lead to mood swings, depression or some other mental disorder.
Based on these signs, one can suspect that the cause of the condition is in the pineal gland. So, there is either a tumor or a cyst of the pineal gland of the brain.
A vascular plexus cyst is considered separately in medicine. This species is found mainly in newborns. The child acquires education in the brain either during childbirth, when assistance to the woman in labor is unskilled, or due to infections.
As you can see, brain cysts are very diverse. Symptoms usually point the doctor to its exact location.
Can a cyst become cancerous?
Usually cysts are not dangerous. Therefore, in medicine they are called benign formations. As we found out, they arise for a number of reasons. Most often, this is an infection that has affected the brain tissue.
Encephalitis and arachnoiditis in our time are perfectly treated with injections and medicines. Upon learning of the disease, you should immediately go to the clinic. As long as the inflammation continues and the patient does not take any steps to diagnose and treat, the formation will gradually grow.
But she cannot be reborn into cancer. Only in exceptional cases, when the brain tissues are already too affected by concomitant disorders and it is impossible to stop the destruction, such deplorableeffects. Statistics claim that only 0.01% of cystic formations still degenerate into malignant ones.
But if you take radical measures and start treatment, the growth of education stops. When the cause was clearly trauma, such as after an accident, the cyst may not grow.
Diagnosis
It is archivally important if a benign neoplasm is suspected, to undergo a whole range of studies. All procedures are needed to understand whether there is a real danger of the appearance of new cysts. What would you recommend taking?
- Mandatory consultation with a cardiologist. It is necessary to understand whether there are heart defects or not.
- Reveal violations in the vessels. Angiography in progress.
- Pressure monitoring in progress.
- A blood test that answers the question of whether there is an autoimmune disease that can provoke abnormalities in the brain.
- Analysis for blood cholesterol levels.
The whole complex of studies will allow us to judge the general forecast for the future. Perhaps the situation is quite acceptable and the treatment will not be delayed.
The specialist needs to make sure that the pain is really due to a cyst, and not a tumor or pseudotumor. To do this, you need to do an MRI examination. This is the first procedure when it comes to neurological diseases and cephalgia.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an absolutely safe procedure. The device receives brain radiation. And where the tissues are denser, there will be darker areas in the image. This is education. MRIof the brain (a cyst is still dangerous for children) is made both for very small children and for allergy sufferers who cannot tolerate the introduction of contrast agents.
Quality treatment
How does cyst treatment begin? Of course, it is necessary to determine the reason. If it lies in autoimmune processes, then perhaps this will happen again. With the treatment of a formation caused by viruses or a purulent infection that has penetrated the brain due to inflammation of the middle ear, antibiotics, which must be prescribed by a doctor, will cope.
Circulatory and cardiac disorders are treated with special drugs and diet. Be sure to need pills to help restore normal blood pressure. In many people, in old age, the blood thickens and therefore blood clots are possible. Proper nutrition is designed to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood and normalize blood density. Sometimes this helps to restore blood circulation in the brain, but if not, you have to resort to surgery.
Some types of formations a priori need to be operated on, for example, a retrocerebellar cyst of the brain. But you can remove it only if there are no contraindications to the operation.
Conclusions
So, we found out everything about the brain cyst. What is dangerous, and what are the symptoms of its development - all this information is important to someone who heard the word "cyst" in the diagnosis. However, in most cases, the situation develops safely and surgical intervention is indicated only in cases of uncontrolled and permanent growth.
For timely detection of cystsan MRI of the brain is done. A cyst that has not yet grown and caused significant tissue damage may stop growing when adequate treatment is given.
