A cyst is a fluid-filled cavity, a benign tumor capable of affecting various systems of the human body, in some cases even during its intrauterine development. One of the most common pathologies in newborns is a brain cyst. Its development is based on various reasons. This tumor does not pose a threat to the child's life, but it always requires careful monitoring and control by specialists.
Causes of brain cysts in newborns
In most cases, the development of a brain cyst in newborns is based on pathologies of the central nervous system that arise even at the stage of intrauterine formation of the fetus. Many of them, found in the first months of a baby's life, are due to the presence of certain diseases in a woman during pregnancy. A brain cyst in a newborn is provoked by infections - encephalitis, meningitis. The presence of the herpes virus in a woman's body can also cause this ailment in a child.
Various diseases, including a brain cyst, cause hypoxia, which is quite common in pregnant women. The lack of oxygen that the child's body experiences during hypoxia can cause many pathologies of his internal organs and the brain. A cyst is one of the most common consequences of oxygen deprivation of the brain of a child during intrauterine development.
Head injuries in newborns during childbirth or in the first days of life can also lead to the formation of a brain cyst.
Symptoms of a brain cyst in newborns
Symptoms depend entirely on the size of the cyst and its location. Large neoplasms have a negative effect on the state of the child's entire body, and can cause a delay in his mental and physical development.
The cyst of the brain tends to increase. Head injuries, inflammatory and infectious diseases can provoke its rapid growth.
A brain cyst should be suspected if the newborn has the following symptoms:
- poor sleep, complete lack of sleep, or, conversely, excessive sleepiness;
- swelling of the fontanelle;
- tremor of the limbs;
- unreasonable loss of consciousness;
- increased anxiety;
- muscle hypertonicity;
- vomiting, frequent regurgitation;
- epilepsy.
Children with brain cysts usually have increased intracranial pressure. Chronic headaches become the cause of the child's moodiness and lack of adequate sleep. A cyst can compress various structures of the brain, leading to impaired motor coordination, seizures, fainting, and impaired vision and hearing.
Treatment of a brain cyst in newborns
Therapy is prescribed taking into account the type of cyst, its size, the presence of certain manifestations in the child. Some cysts tend to resolve on their own within a few months. When diagnosing them, careful observation of the child by specialists is established.
The tumor must be removed if it reaches a large size and negatively affects the well-being and development of the newborn. The cyst can be removed in several ways: using an endoscope, bypass grafting or craniotomy. The latter method is used extremely rarely and only in emergency cases.
A brain cyst in a child is the cause of the development of such a dangerous disease as hydrocephalus, therefore, leaving this pathology unattended is unacceptable.
