Identifying Brain Tumours: Causes and Symptoms

Understanding Brain Tumours

A brain tumour refers to a large mass of abnormally growing tissues in the brain, which disrupts the functioning of the brain. A brain tumour disrupts the flow of blood causing problems like Dementia, memory loss, coma, poor body coordination, weak concentration, speech problems, nausea or vomiting. A brain tumour is mostly cancerous, and rarely non-cancerous. The cancerous brain tumours are life-threatening, whereas the non-cancerous tumours are not as risky. Most of them grow and spread rapidly in the brain, while some others are slow-growing depending on their type. According to the best neurologist in Delhi, these brain tumours require surgical treatment in most cases, but since most of them are metastatic, they can spread even after the surgery.

Signs you have a Brain Tumour:

• Migraine

Since the brain tumour disrupts the blood flow in the brain it can lead to prolonged headaches or migraine. This is one of the most common symptoms of having a brain tumour. 

• Trouble in routine activities

The patients suffering from a brain tumour may face trouble in carrying out their routine activities like bathing, dressing, and walking etc. They may even face trouble in eating and walking.

• Forgetfulness

The patients having a brain tumour may experience partial or complete forgetfulness. They may not even forget their past incidents but also their routine activities. In some worst-case situations, the patient may suffer from complete memory loss, where he can’t identify his family members.

• Poor body movement

Since our nervous system controls the functioning of our body movements, a brain tumour results in poor body coordination. The patients face extreme difficulty in walking and hand movements and need support.

• Troubled Speech

The patients experience difficulty while speaking and often have distorted speech. Their words are not spoken and can’t be understood easily.

• Poor Vision

The patients suffering from brain tumours face poor or weak vision.

• Nausea and Vomiting

Patients may also experience nausea and vomiting and may also feel extremely exhausted.

• Absurd behaviour

The patients may experience behavioural and personality changes. Emotional changes like extreme anger are also a common occurrence.

• Confusion

The patients may suffer from unexplained confusion or excessive mental stress. 

• Coma

The patients may also slip into a coma in some worst-case situations.

Causes of Brain Tumours

If scientifically explained, brain tumours result from the change in mutations of the DNA of brain cells, which leads to the formation of brain tumours. A mutation commands for rapid division of brain cells resulting in abnormal formation of brain cells. In the initial stages, the tumour remains confined to a single place, but if not treated on time or in some cases even after surgical treatment it spreads to different parts of the brain leading to cancer. This is when the brain tumour becomes life-threatening.

Now, most of you might be thinking as to what causes the brain cells to change their mutations, here are a few reasons as suggested by the best neurologist in Delhi:

• Excessive mental stress 

Excessive mental stress or trauma is one of the main factors that lead to the formation of a brain tumour.

• Unhealthy Lifestyle

Unhealthy lifestyles such as poor nutrition and consumption of alcohol and drugs can lead to the formation of brain tumours in the brain.

• Genetics

If the patient has a family history of cancer, it is most likely that his genetic changes are responsible for the development of his brain tumour.

.

• Medicational Side effects

Brain tumours may also result as a side effect of some prolonged medications such as sleeping pills or other heavy doses of similar nature.

How to Diagnose Brain Tumours?

Brain tumours have certain complex symptoms which are difficult to frame a self-diagnosis and hence require medical guidance:

• Medical Analysis

Your doctor will be conducting a medical exam and look for symptoms of the concerned disorder in your body. He can also enquire about your medical history or family history to frame a perfect diagnosis.

• Screening Test

Your doctor may conduct certain Screening or imaging tests like CT Scan, MRI, PET to analyse the location, size and stage of brain tumour.

• Neurological examination

The doctor may test you based on your neurological health, such as checking your mental activity, body coordination and movement, thinking and reasoning capabilities etc.

• Biopsy

Your surgeon may also advise you for a biopsy test. In a biopsy test, the surgeon may extract a small piece of tissue from the tumour and then via laboratory test examine its stage and growth.

A Neurologist in South Delhi says that most brain tumours are life-threatening but their growth can be slowed down if they are detected in the initial stage.