Symptoms Of Brain Tumor Research Articles

Brain Tumor Symptoms as Antecedents to Uncertainty: An Integrative Review

Uncertainty is a common experience within human cancer. For brain tumor patients, irregular symptom pattern and presentation may promote uncertainties about treatment response, prognosis, and life quality. We sought to identify the somatic symptom experience associated with primary and secondary brain tumors and the potential impact on illness-related uncertainty. An integrative literature search of Medline and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) was performed. Symptom data were excerpted into tables and reviewed critically against the broader uncertainty-focused oncology literature. Twenty-one studies investigated a diverse range of brain tumor symptoms that persist through the now-expanding, post-treatment survival. While symptoms such as fatigue were common, antecedents and patterns were poorly characterized and inconsistent between and within categories of tumor. Symptom investigation is an emerging and rapidly developing area of neuro-oncology. The extent to which symptoms are familiar, predictable, and understandable can mitigate uncertainty. The unstable nature of symptoms across the trajectory of a brain tumor may be a significant corollary to illness-related uncertainty. Because the majority of brain tumor patients cannot be cured of their cancer, understanding the symptom expanse and potential to promote uncertainty could inform alternative nursing strategies to reduce anxiety and distress, and to preserve life quality where cure is often unattainable.

Malignant gliomas: early diagnosis and clinical aspects

Brain tumor symptoms vary greatly from person to person because of two factors: location and size of tumors. The size of a tumor, however, does not necessarily affect the severity of symptoms. Manifestations depend on the cause of the symptoms: an increase in ICP, direct compression of gray or white matter, shifting of intracranial contents, or secondary cerebral ischemia. Symptoms may be non-specific and include headache, altered mental status, ataxia, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and gait disturbance. Left-sided weakness may be seen in a patient with a tumor pressing on the contra-lateral motor strip or speech difficulties may occur if a tumor is in the dominant hemisphere. Up to a third of people report having seizures prior to being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Rarely, brain tumor can present with psychiatric symptoms but without other neurological signs or symptoms. Evaluation for brain tumor is indicated in any patient with chronic, persistent headache associated with protracted nausea, vomiting, seizures, changes in headache pattern, neurologic symptoms, and change in personality.

Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Brain Tumor

Background: CNS tumors comprise 2% to 5% of all tumors. There was no epidemiological and statistical data regarding various features of brain tumors in this country. 80% involve the brain and 20% involve the spinal cord. Brain tumors cause approximately 2% of all cancer deaths. Objectives: to evaluate the clinical and pathological characteristics of brain tumors. Methods: This prospective study was done at Oncology department and Neurosurgery department of Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujib Medical University from July 2006 to June 2007. Total 50 patient age 2-60 years attending the oncology department with the diagnosis of primary brain tumor were included in this study. Clinical symptoms and sign in relation to brain tumor were recorded. X ray skull and CT scan reports of all cases were evaluated. To find out the histopathological pattern of the brain tumors all histopathological reports were also evaluated. Results: Most common symptoms of brain tumor were headache (76%), mental change (64%), vomiting (52%), visual defect (46%), difficulty in movement (42%) and convulsion (36%). Astrocytoma was found in 40% patients and 30% brain tumor was associated with hydrocephalus Conclusion: This study represent the brain tumor and gives some idea about the clinicopathological aspects of the disease in our country. It will help to do further studies to evaluate the clinical, epidemiological and pathological characteristics of brain tumor DOI: 10.3329/bsmmuj.v3i2.7054 BSMMU J 2010; 3(2): 68-71

An overview of palliative care for patients with brain tumours: An interprofessional approach

The aims of palliative care are to maintain and improve quality of life, control distressing symptoms and facilitate a dignified death. Patients and their families should be involved in decision-making about management and be provided with education, support and information to facilitate this process. A brain tumour has a substantial impact on a person's lifestyle and can impair communication, cognition, movement, vision, personality, memory. The treatment of brain tumours is often palliative. Management of the symptoms of brain tumours and the side effects of treatments present a challenge to all health professionals involved in patients' care. An interprofessional approach to care is recommended.

Brain Tumors in Children: Initial Symptoms and Their Influence on the Time Span Between Symptom Onset and Diagnosis

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor entity in childhood. Symptoms are often unspecific, depending not only on the localization of the tumor, but also on the age of the child. The aim of this study was to detect factors influencing the time span between the occurrence of symptoms and the diagnosis to alert health professionals to the early symptoms of pediatric brain tumors. The records of 245 consecutive patients treated for brain tumors between 1980 and 2004 at the neuropediatric department of the University of Muenster were analyzed regarding their primary symptoms, tumor location, entity, and, in 151 cases, the primary electroencephalogram findings. The median time span between symptom onset and diagnosis in our study was 24 days. Multivariate analysis showed a significant influence of 6 parameters on the interval between symptom onset and diagnosis. An additional symptom had a significant influence on the time span between symptom onset and diagnosis in the univariate analysis. The findings that several symptoms influence the interval between symptom onset and diagnosis emphasize the necessity to systematically inquire about the key symptoms of brain tumors. The challenge for every consultant is to decide in which cases cerebral imaging is appropriate. As the most frequent symptoms are unspecific and often underestimated, a detailed anamnesis is crucial to detect possible brain tumor patients. In doubtful cases, a systematic interrogation regarding the catalogue of symptoms can be helpful.

Clínica de presentación de los tumores de sistema nervioso central en función de la edad

Central nervous system tumors are the second most frequent group of neoplasms in children and are the main cause of cancer-related deaths in the pediatric population. There are no specific clinical findings. Consequently clinical data that would aid diagnosis are required. To establish the presenting signs and symptoms of brain tumors in childhood according to age and identify their influence on diagnostic delay. We retrospectively studied 69 patients with central nervous system tumors diagnosed between January 1997 and December 2002 in the Virgen del Rocío children's hospital. At diagnosis, 60.9 % of the patients were in the most advanced clinical stages. The most commonly found signs were papilledema, ataxia and squint, with no differences among age groups. The most frequent symptoms were vomiting, headache and behavior changes (irritability in children aged less than 5 years and unhappiness in children aged more than 5 years). Diagnostic delay was longer in older children. The diagnostic signs and symptoms of central nervous tumors are non-specific. A high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis.

Managing the cognitive effects of brain tumor radiation therapy

Postoperative radiation therapy (RT), either alone or in combination with chemotherapy, is the mainstay of treatment for primary and/or metastatic brain tumors. The majority of patients with brain tumors will have significant symptoms of their disease and of RT that will have a negative impact on their quality of life and neurocognitive function. The symptoms of brain tumors depend on tumor location. Radiation-induced brain injury is a complex and dynamic process involving all cells in the brain, including endothelial and oligodendroglial cells, astrocytes, microglia, neurons, and neuronal stem cells. The symptoms of radiation-induced brain injury may be acute, subacute, or chronic, occurring hours, days, weeks, months, and even years after exposure to radiation, the pathogenesis of which is oxidative stress and inflammation. At present, there are no effective preventive approaches for radiation-induced brain injury. Rather, the management of radiation-induced fatigue, changes in mood, and cognitive dysfunction involves a multidisciplinary approach using pharmacologic, behavioral, and rehabilitative therapies. Given the prevalence of brain neoplasms and the high incidence of the radiation-induced symptom cluster and brain injury, clinical research to address these important clinical problems is critical.

Presenting Symptoms of Pediatric Brain Tumors

Presenting Symptoms of Pediatric Brain Tumors

Brain tumor symptoms that mimic facial pain conditions: A population-based study

Brain tumor symptoms that mimic facial pain conditions: A population-based study

卒中発作をきたした脳腫瘍 : 19症例の臨床的検討

卒中発作をきたした脳腫瘍 : 19症例の臨床的検討

Seizures as the presenting symptom of brain tumors in children.

Epileptic seizures caused by tumors in children have been regarded as uncommon. We have studied 99 consecutive cases of brain tumors during the period 1980-1987. In 20 cases the tumor was localized to one of the hemipheres and 10 of the cases had seizures, in 9 as the only initial symptom. Details of the clinical picture and the course are presented. Delay from initial symptoms to correct diagnosis was considerable in 4 cases--more than six years. The factors mainly responsible for this delay were: initial EEG normal or soon normalized, misinterpretation of computerized tomography and seizure freedom with or without antiepileptic drug treatment. We conclude that regional slowing in the EEG is a common, although not obligatory, finding. Computerized tomography should be performed in all children with newly presented epilepsy of partial type, except for those with benign partial epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes.

Delayed Diagnosis of a Frontal Meningioma

AbstractThe case of a 42-year-old homeless, previously high-functioning woman is presented. Over the course of 1 year she developed headache, visual loss, visual hallucinations and personality change that were attributed by several medical services to conversion disorder or malingering. When admitted to the psychiatry service a large frontal meningioma was diagnosed. Psychiatric and neurologic signs and symptoms of brain tumors, as well as indicators of psychiatric presentations of organic disease, are discussed.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage from Brain Tumors

Six children with subarachnoid hemorrhage as the initial symptom of brain tumor are reported from the Depts of Neurosurgery, Univ.

Visible Drusen in Optic Discs

To the Editor. —In the June issue of theArchives, Miller 1 presented photographic documentation of the appearance of optic disc drusen in a patient who initially had anomalously elevated discs without visible drusen. Such a patient has previously been presented with photographs by Huber in Fig 2-38 of the third edition of his book Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors . 2 Dr Huber has graciously allowed me to present those photographs in other publications. 3 While I am not certain that this is the only other photographically documented and published case, it does precede Miller's note by a decade. Additionally, for most ophthalmologists, ultrasonography is probably a more accessible means of documenting suspected buried drusen. It is certainly less expensive and without the radiation exposure attendant on computed tomographic scanning. Moreover, although I have not made a comparative study, it is my impression that drusen can often be

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

How does the author of a successful textbook set about revising it 20 years after the first edition? In the two main areas, the text and the illustrations, Dr Huber and his editor have made changes, some of which emphasize the difficulties that are faced in producing a new edition. The greatest problem with the illustrations is the exceptionally poor reproduction of the older photographs, which were of outstanding clarity in the 1956 edition published in Switzerland, and are now sometimes of so low contrast that the relevant features are barely discernible. It must be mortifying for an author to watch his photographs, which were reproduced with such expertise by the original Swiss publisher, progressively degraded in St Louis so that the details disappear in successive editions, leading the reader to speculate whether in the next edition the usefulness of the illustrations will have disappeared into a black hole in

Eye Signs and Symptoms in Brain Tumors

What was particularly impressive about the original Swiss edition of this book was unexcelled black-andwhite photographic illustrations of the ocular fundus, a concise, accurate text in German, and a useful listing of German, French, and English articles on the subject of ocular symptoms of brain tumors. Readership of the book increased greatly with the publication of the first English-language translation in 1961. The first revision of the text was done for the second English edition, published in 1971. If one leafs through the new edition published in 1976 and compares it to previous editions, he will note several things, some good and some bad. With each successive English edition, the original photographic illustrations have been sinfully degraded to a point where their content will not be recognizable in future editions. Paradoxically, the new illustrations in the third edition are of excellent quality. The format of the book, including most of

Primary leptomeningeal sarcomatosis. Clinicopathological report of six cases.

6 autopsy cases of primary leptomeningeal sarcomatosis are presented as a distinct nosological entity with a variable clinical picture and morphology in 5 males and 1 female. The clinical course from onset of symptoms till death ran for only a few weeks in most cases. 2 infants showed brain tumor symptoms and signs. 2 patients of advanced age presented a polyradiculoneuritic syndrome and 2 young adults had spinal cord compression symptoms and a mixed clinical form. In almost all cases, clinical symptoms and signs were for most of the course confined to one part of the neuraxis. The CSF was distinctly abnormal in all cases, showing elevated protein, depressed glucose and pleocytosis of variable extent. CSF sediment was investigated in 3 cases in all of which malignant tumor cells were found so a diagnosis of malignant meningeal tumor was made during life. Electron microscopy of CSF cells in 1 case confirmed the primitive character of the tumor cells. Complete autopsies revealed absence of any neoplasm outside of the CNS. Gross meningeal involvement was visible in all cases. Histologically, 3 tumor types were distinguished: polymorphic cell sarcoma, an undifferentiated form, and fibrosarcomatosis. Clinical data are analyzed in order to distinguish the condition from other neoplasms or infectious, especially tuberculous meningeal infiltrations. CSF cytology studies are considered the most useful step in clinical diagnosis. Neuropathological features are reviewed with stress on differentiation from malignant lymphomas of the CNS, diffusely spreading medulloblastoma, meningeal melanoblastosis and gliomatosis. The origin of meningeal sarcomatosis cells is briefly discussed. The use of the term "meningeal meningiomatosis" for this condition is deprecated.

Eye Symptoms in Brain Tumors

This book is written to teach. It is the thoughtful experience of one man and directs its emphasis to just those problems which are most fundamental. The author's opinions are clearly stated in summarizing paragraphs at the end of each section. The only fault is that potential readers may be intimidated by the title. Between what seem to be narrow boundaries, however, is a collection of neuro-ophthalmic nuggets which expand the range of this book so that ophthalmologists at any level can read it with profit. The book is thoroughly readable, and partial credit for this must go to Dr. Blodifor his excellent translation. Within these pages are so many important points, so clearly stated, that one is tempted to recommend this as a first book for the resident; it certainly could be one of the first. The introductory chapter on the neuro-ophthalmic examination is superb.