A brain cyst is a three-dimensional spherical structure that is filled with fluid that replaces the affected tissues. In newborns, it is a very common diagnosis than it might seem at first glance. Every third child, as a rule, is born with this pathology. Sometimes the size of the formation is so small that the baby may not even show any anxiety. Over time, the cyst may dissolve without a trace.
Causes of appearance in newborns
A brain cyst in a newborn can occur due to a number of reasons. The factors of its occurrence, as well as the causes of most diseases of the nervous system, have not yet been fully studied to date. The main causes of cystic formation include the following factors:
- Injured during childbirth.
- Injury in the process of life.
- Injury acquisition inthe result of intranatal infection, when the injury is transmitted from mother to child. In this case, the herpes virus often leads to the formation of a cyst.
- Presence of congenital anomalies and pathologies of the central nervous system.
- The appearance of circulatory disorders of the brain.
- Presence of infections of the nervous system that were transferred by the child, for example, meningitis or encephalitis.
- Brain hemorrhage.
Types of pathology
Depending on the location, structure, and, in addition, the causes of the brain cyst are classified as follows:
Directly by the time of occurrence, this ailment can have two forms:
- Congenital form that occurs as a result of anomalies in the development of the nervous system in the fetus.
- Acquired form when there is brain injury or infection.
Types and causes of a cyst in a newborn are of interest to many.
According to localization, the classification is as follows:
- Subependymal type of cyst. This type is said to be when the cyst is cerebral, located inside the brain. This is the most dangerous brain cyst that can be found in children in the first year of life. It is formed due to oxygen starvation of brain cells or as a result of their death. Without timely treatment, such a pathology can lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system. The consequences in this case are a violation of the vital function of the body along with disability or death of the baby.
- Arachnoid type of cyst is a formation onarachnoid membrane of the brain. Such a cyst can be localized in any brain region, while violating its hematodynamics. It is less dangerous than the previous one, but also requires special attention from surgeons. Its consequences are predominantly more favorable for life, but the absence of therapy can lead to a child lagging behind in terms of psychomotor development.
By structure, cysts are divided according to the following classification:
- Colloid type of education. Such a cyst is laid even in the period of intrauterine development. As long as the size of the cyst is not large, it does not cause any symptoms. With ultrasound diagnosis of the fetus, the cyst can be easily seen. As the body grows, so does the cyst. Its main symptom is severe hydrocephalus. This type of disease requires surgical treatment in a neurosurgical hospital.
- The dermoid type of cyst is formed against the background of fetal embryogenesis, which occurs from undifferentiated cells of the sheets of the skin and hair follicles. Such formations do not dissolve on their own, requiring surgical treatment.
- Epidermoid type consists of squamous epithelium and keratinized cell elements. Such a cyst is considered the most benign of all that are found in infants, but it also requires surgical intervention.
- Pineal cyst type. Against the background of this formation, hydrocephalus rapidly develops. Children in its presence are exposed to inflammatory diseases of the nervous system.
- Cyst of the choroid plexus. This pathology is usually small and does not cause any symptoms of the disease. It also does not pose a threat to he alth, because it is formed in the fetus in the womb and resolves immediately after birth, without requiring surgical intervention.
Symptoms of pathology
Symptomatically, a brain cyst in a newborn can manifest itself in different ways, which directly depends on the type of education, the timing of its appearance, the duration of the process itself, volume and localization.
Common symptoms of large masses are breast rejection. Such children may eat poorly and spit up profusely after eating. In this case, the child will be lethargic and apathetic, slowly developing, screaming and capricious without any reason. Symptoms of a brain cyst can be difficult to recognize.
These children have impaired coordination, they may react poorly to toys, which will indicate a weakening of vision. There may also be no reaction to sounds, while they will not have otolaryngological pathologies. Such children, as a rule, are significantly behind in psychomotor development, gaining weight poorly.
Over time, if a brain cyst in a newborn is not treated in any way (this is especially true for dermoid and arachnoid cysts), the skull may begin to deform in children. Against this background, the size of the brain section will significantly prevail over the facial one.
As for the subependymal vascular cyst of the brain, it has its own characteristics. Suchthe cyst often affects the motor structure of the brain, causing convulsions along with involuntary twitches, paresis and paralysis. As the cyst grows, the child will experience an increase in intracranial pressure, and convulsive seizures, in turn, will become more frequent. Sometimes these children may have a hemorrhagic stroke. Very often, a vascular cyst of the brain in a child presses on other brain structures, which causes variability in the clinical picture.
Multicystic disease in children
Multicystic encephalomalacia is a severe pathology that affects brain tissue at a very early age. This disease is expressed in the appearance of multiple cavitary structures of different sizes in the white matter, which is characterized by an extremely severe course with a disappointing prognosis.
The most vulnerable period, when multicystic brain develops most often, is the stage from the twenty-eighth gestational week to the first few days after birth. The main factors causing the development of multiple foci of necrosis are the following reasons:
- The appearance of herpes infection and cytomegalovirus.
- Presence of rubella virus or toxoplasma.
- Influence of enterobacteria or Staphylococcus aureus.
- Intrauterine asphyxia along with birth trauma.
- Development of sinus thrombosis.
- Presence of vascular malformations, as well as sepsis.
In the event that a brain cyst is diagnosed, the following complications are likely in the child:
- The appearance of severe physical and mental underdevelopment, in which the child will be unable to walk or talk.
- Development of epileptic encephalopathy, which will be expressed in multiple seizures of epilepsy.
The prognosis in this case will be extremely difficult.
Pseudocystic structures
Medics have not yet found out exactly how a pseudocyst in the brain of a newborn differs from other similar formations. Often, experts refer to the presence or absence of the epithelium that lines the cavity, but such a judgment has not yet been confirmed. But what is a pseudocyst, and can it be considered a dangerous anomaly for a child? There are a number of criteria by which experts distinguish pseudo-education:
- The presence of false abdominal structures that are localized in the region of the bodies of the lateral ventricles of the brain.
- No hemorrhage into the capsule cavity, which is filled with clear liquid.
- The reason for the appearance of a false formation is not determined by genetic anomalies, that is, they speak of an acquired pathology.
Ninety-five out of a hundred babies who have ventricular pseudo-formation do not develop any developmental disorder. Dangerous consider subependymal pseudocyst, localized in the tissues. It can occur against the background of intrauterine disorders and includes hemorrhages along with tissue hypoxia, during which the lateral ventricles are damaged. Ischemia may also occur, leading to cell death in certain areas.plots.
The threat is especially if the false structure begins to grow, and the diseases in which it was formed cause serious damage. In this situation, it will need to be removed along with treatment of ischemia and other possible complications of birth trauma.
In the event that the pseudo-formation does not resolve in the first year of a child's life, regular ultrasound examinations will be required along with a visit to a neurologist to track growth dynamics. In addition, you will need to monitor the indicators of intracranial pressure and all kinds of deviations in the behavior of the baby. Among such deviations, there may be a child's inability to concentrate, his excessive tearfulness, and so on. A very good indicator on ultrasound will be a decrease in the anomaly.
Diagnosis of pathology
In the process of diagnosing brain cysts in a newborn, they differ in a number of features. The fact is that in infants, a large fontanel is not yet closed. It usually closes only by the year. In this regard, newborns, first of all, undergo an ultrasound examination of the brain. An experienced specialist in the framework of such a study can determine the presence, size and localization of education.
For a more accurate diagnosis, computed tomography of the brain is performed. A feature of this procedure for babies under five years old is that it is performed under anesthesia, which increases the risk of complications.
Introduction of children into anesthesia for carrying outmagnetic resonance imaging as part of the diagnosis of cystic formation is necessary due to the fact that newborns are constantly moving, which makes it impossible to perform the study. The type of anesthesia is chosen individually, but the most common drug for introducing a child into medical sleep is Thiopental. Such diagnostics are required to be carried out in dynamics once every four months or unscheduled according to indications. This method also helps to differentiate the pseudocyst.
Which children should be screened for brain cysts?
Such an examination is necessary in a number of the following cases:
- At risk are, first of all, children whose mothers contracted herpes for the first time during pregnancy.
- In the event that a woman's pregnancy proceeded with complications in the form of oligohydramnios, a large fetus and other fetal anomalies.
- Children with birth injuries.
What is the treatment for a brain cyst?
Treatment of pathology
The formation of a cyst in the brain is not a death sentence for a child. Everything directly depends on the localization of education and its type. Treatment, as a rule, is divided into conservative, that is, medical and surgical. In the event that the cystic formation does not grow in size and new neurological symptoms do not occur, then conservative treatment is prescribed.
Children are prescribed drugs whose action is aimed at improving the rheological properties of blood and normalizing general hemodynamics. Often prescribedimmunomodulators, especially in cases where the disease is caused by an infection. We must not forget about the therapy of the pathogen itself, for this antibiotics are used along with antiviral and antifungal drugs. Pseudocysts are also amenable to conservative treatment.
Subependymal cysts tend to resolve over time, after which a small adhesion may be visible on the MRI. The situation is somewhat worse with the dermoid and arachnoid type of education. They require a special approach in treatment. As the child grows, the cyst also grows, which compresses the surrounding tissues. In this case, a neurosurgical operation is required.
Removal of a brain cyst is carried out using palliative and radical techniques. Most often, the former is preferred. Palliative therapy consists in shunting the formation cavity or removing it using the endoscopic method. During shunting, a drain is inserted into the cyst, through which it must be emptied. At the same time, the shunt stays in the cavity for some time, which opens up additional gates for infections to enter. Another disadvantage is that the cyst itself is still preserved after this, which means it can fill up again.
Endoscopic technique is less dangerous in terms of complications. The neurosurgeon enters the child's brain with the help of an endoscope. A hole is made in the cyst, which is sanitized. This procedure should be performed by an experienced specialist, as there is a great danger of damage to nearby brain structures.
Radical method of treatment of cysts of the choroid plexus of the brain is used extremely rarely. Most often it is carried out with dermoid formations. This method primarily involves opening the skull box and then removing the cyst. But this is a huge risk, and there is a great danger of provoking a skull defect. In addition, it is very difficult to predict how the trepanation window will close. In place of the surgical plate, regeneration processes may subsequently be disrupted.
What is the forecast?
Parents should be aware that successful treatment of congenital or acquired lesions requires early diagnosis, which should include:
- Neurosonography.
- Performing Doppler encephalography.
- Performing positron and emission, and, in addition, magnetic resonance imaging.
- Performing a cerebral scintigraphy.
With small volumes and timely treatment, the prognosis for life is favorable. But in cases where the cyst is large, and surgical treatment for some reason is impossible or was carried out out of time, the consequences may be irreparable. Such children may lag behind in physical, psychomotor, and eventually in sexual development. They, unlike others, significantly suffer from vision and hearing. Very often they are disabled.
An adult brain cyst
A cyst in the head is a bubble-like capsule with liquid contents in the brain tissues. It can be located in any part of the brain, but most often it can befound in the arachnoid covering of the cerebral cortex.
A cyst is born due to injuries, diseases, and other influences that contribute to the formation of areas with dead cells. Between the temporal and parietal lobes is fluid. When abnormal areas appear, this fluid replaces dead tissue. Then its volume increases and a cavity is formed, which turns into a cyst.
The pineal cyst of the brain is a cavity filled with liquid contents, located in the epiphysis of the midbrain. Its incidence is very low and there are no symptoms.
Pineal cyst of the brain rarely causes disruption of hormonal status. It also does not lead to compression of the surrounding nerve structures. Does not turn into a tumor.
Retrocerebellar cyst of the brain is classified as a benign tumor. This is also a bubble with liquid. It can occur anywhere in the brain where gray matter necrosis develops.
You can meet:
- Retrocerebellar arachnoid cyst. In this case, neoplasms arise between the membranes of the brain. They are filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
- Retrocerebellar CSF cyst. It develops due to a head injury, hemorrhages, inflammatory processes in the brain, after surgical operations.
Causes the following symptoms:
- visual and hearing acuity is reduced;
- severe headache occurs;
- convulsions;
- may experience sudden loss of consciousness;
- numbness of limbs;
- throbbing in the head.
