ABOUT THE DISEASE
Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid-filled sacs that are located between the brain or the spinal cord and the arachnoid membrane. Arachnoid membrane is one of the three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Most of the cysts are Primary arachnoid cysts and are present at birth. Secondary arachnoid cysts are less common and develop as a result of head injury, meningitis, tumors, or as a complication of brain surgery. The majority of arachnoid cysts form outside the temporal lobe of the brain in an area of the skull known as the middle cranial fossa. Arachnoid cysts involving the spinal cord are rarer. These cysts often happen in males.
SYMPTOMS
The location and size of the cyst determine the symptoms and when those symptoms begin. Some people with arachnoid cysts never have symptoms, while others may have:
- • Cranial deformation or Macrocephaly, if cyst is large
- • Headache
- • Seizures and Convulsions
- • Vertigo and difficulty in walking
- • Nausea
- • Developmental delay.
- • Increased intracranial pressure.
- • Behavioral changes.
- • Hydrocephalus
- • Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body - Hemiparesis
- • Lack of muscle control - Ataxia
CAUSES
Primary arachnoid cysts are the result of developmental abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord that arise during the early weeks of gestation. Secondary arachnoid cysts develop as a result of head injury, meningitis, or tumors, etc.
DIAGNOSIS
- MRI Brain/Spine
TREATMENT METHODS
- If the cyst is small, not disturbing surrounding tissue, and not causing symptoms, no active treatment is required. But it needs to be constantly monitored.
- Surgical Options: Drainage of arachnoid cyst - by placing shunts in the cyst to drain its fluid. Alternatively, minimally invasive surgery is done to remove the membranes of the cyst or open the cyst so that its fluid can drain into the cerebrospinal fluid and be absorbed.
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