Cyst of the pineal gland of the brain

Cyst of the pineal gland of the brain is a neoplasm, which resembles in structure a certain sac. In most cases of special fears such a disease should not cause, because the direct effect on the activity of the brain cyst does not have. But a regular increase in its size can lead to some adverse consequences.

Until now, there are no well-defined causes of cyst formation. Therefore, specialists can only have conjectures about the veracity of which one can not judge. In addition, often the patient does not feel deterioration of the condition or any other signs, that is, the pineal gland cyst can occur with complete absence of symptomatic manifestations. An exception is the growth, which increases in size. In this case, a person is seriously distressed.

The cyst is formed in the area of the pineal gland, that is, in the middle of the two main cerebral hemispheres. This gland is directly related to the endocrine system and is responsible for the production of the hormone melatonin, whose goal is to ensure a normal quality sleep. It is this center of the brain that reacts to light, so people want to sleep at night and stay awake during the day.

Cyst of the pineal gland of the brain: symptoms

As noted above, most often the presence of cysts can not be detected by external signs. Therefore, the presence of symptomatic manifestations indicates a significant increase in its size. As a rule, such neoplasms reach 0.5 centimeters and more. Then the patient is overcome with nausea, headaches, torments vomiting. He reacts painfully to bright light, and even to a large crowd of people.

Among the complications is customary to include hydrocephalus, which arises in connection with a significant increase in the size of the cyst. This disease involves the accumulation of fluid in the ventricles of the brain, which increases blood pressure in the vessels. Then the patient initially has mild discomfort, then the headache intensifies, nausea and vomiting appear. Idle in such a situation is extremely dangerous, because a person can fall into a coma or a lethargic dream. But if the bubbles with the liquid are accompanied by the formation of a cyst, then we can say that there is an arachnoid cyst of the brain. Treatment of it, as a rule, is not carried out, as it does not represent harm to human health and life.

Not dangerous in most cases, but causing parents to panic, is a pseudocyst of the brain in a newborn. Under the concept of "cyst" and "pseudocyst" experts mean the same thing. The only difference is the lack of pavement in pseudocysts. With this diagnosis, the baby can live, and even do not require special intervention, since over time, the neoplasm should resolve.

The pineal gland of the brain is diagnosed after passing the scanning procedure, which accurately determines the localization of the tumor and its size. Since it is benign, it can not have a negative impact on health or threaten the life of the cyst, which means that there is no need for treatment.

But in the presence of prerequisites for the development of hydrocephalus or other forms of disease progression, surgical intervention is possible in order to avoid deterioration of the patient's health. Unfortunately, the operation on the brain is still considered one of the most difficult, therefore in itself is a risky exercise. This factor forces specialists to resort to a more conservative medical method of treatment.