Arachnoid cyst history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]
Overview
Patients with arachnoid cysts may never show symptoms, even in some cases where the cyst is large. Therefore, while the presence of symptoms may provoke further clinical investigation, symptoms independent of further data cannot -- and should not -- be interpreted as evidence of a cyst's existence, size or location.
History and Symptoms
Symptoms vary by the size and location of the cyst(s), though small cysts usually have no symptoms and are discovered only incidentally.[1] On the other hand, a number of symptoms may result from large cysts:
- Cranial deformation or macrocephaly (enlargement of the head), particularly in children[2]
- Cysts in the suprasellar region in children have presented as bobbing and nodding of the head called Bobble-Head Doll Syndrome.[2]
- Cysts in the left middle cranial fossa have been associated with ADHD in a study on affected children.[3]
- Headaches.[1] While the most common symptom, a patient experiencing a headache does not necessarily have an arachnoid cyst.
- In a 2002 study involving 78 patients with a migraine or tension-type headache, CT scans showed abnormalities in over a third of the patients, though arachnoid cysts only accounted for 2.6% of patients in this study.[4]
- A study found 18% of patients with intracranial arachnoid cysts had non-specific headaches. The cyst was in the temporal location in 75% of these cases.[5]
- Seizures[1]
- Hydrocephalus (excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid)[1]
- Increased intracranial pressure[1]
- Developmental delay[1]
- Behavioral changes[1]
- Hemiparesis (weakness or paralysis on one side of the body)[1]
- Ataxia (lack of muscle control)[1]
- Musical hallucination[6]
- Pre-senile dementia,[7] a condition often associated with Alzheimer's disease
- In elderly patients (>65 years old) symptoms were similar to chronic subdural hematoma or normal pressure hydrocephalus:[8]
- Dementia
- Urinary incontinence
- Hemiparesis
- Headache
- Seizures
Location-specific Symptoms
- The following list of location-specific symptoms should be interpreted in the context of what they represent: results from several independent, unrelated studies.
- A supratentorial arachnoid cyst can mimic a Ménière's disease attack.[9]
- Frontal arachnoid cysts have been associated with depression.[10]
- Cysts on the left temporal lobe have been associated with psychosis.[11] [12] A left fronto-temporal cyst more specifically showed symptoms of alexithymia.[13]
- Cyst on the right sylvian fissure resulted in new onset of schizophrenia-like symptoms at age 61.[14]
- A patient with a cyst on the left middle cranial fossa had auditory hallucinations, migraine-like headaches, and periodic paranoia[5]
- Patients with left temporal lobe cysts had mood disturbances similar to manic depression (bipolar disorder)[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barker RA, Scolding N, Rowe D, Larner AJ. The A-Z of Neurological Practice: A Guide to Clinical Neurology Cambridge University Press 2005 Jan 10, p61. (ISBN 0-521-62960-8)
- ↑ Millichap JG. "Temporal lobe arachnoid cyst-attention deficit disorder syndrome: role of the electroencephalogram in diagnosis", Neurology 1997 May;48(5):1435-9. (PMID 9153486)
- ↑ Valença MM, Valença LP, Menezes TL. "Computed tomography scan of the head in patients with migraine or tension-type headache", Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2002 Sep;60(3-A):542-7. (PMID 12244387)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cameron AD. "Psychotic phenomena with migraine and an arachnoid cyst", Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry 2002 Mar-Apr 6(2) http://www.escriber.com/Progress/Features.asp? Action=View&Archive=True&ID=67&GroupID=&Page=11
- ↑ Griffiths TD. "Musical hallucinosis in acquired deafness. Phenomenology and brain substrate.", Brain, 2000 Oct;123 ( Pt 10):2065-76. (PMID 11004124)
- ↑ Richards G, Lusznat RM. "An arachnoid cyst in a patient with pre-senile dementia", Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, 2001 May-June;5(3) http://www.escriber.com/Progress/Features.asp? Action=View&Archive=True&ID=29&GroupID=&Page=18
- ↑ Yamakawa H, Ohkuma A, Hattori T, Niikawa S, Kobayashi H. "Primary intracranial arachnoid cyst in the elderly: a survey on 39 cases", Acta Neurochir (Wien). 1991;113(1-2):42-7. (PMID 1799142)
- ↑ Buongiorno G, Ricca G. "Supratentorial arachnoid cyst mimicking a Ménière's disease attack", J Laryngol Otol. 2003 Sep;117(9):728-30. (PMID 14561365)
- ↑ Cummings JL, Mega MS. Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Oxford University Press, USA; 2Rev Ed, 2003 Jan 23;208. (ISBN 0-19-513858-9)
- ↑ Alves da Silva J, Alves A, Talina M, Carreiro S, Guimarães J, Xavier M. "Arachnoid cyst in a patient with psychosis: a case report" Annals of General Psychiatry 2007, 6:16) [1]
- ↑ Vakis AF, Koutentakis DI, Karabetsos DA, Kalostos GN. "Psychosis-like syndrome associated with intermittent intracranial hypertension caused by a large arachnoid cyst of the left temporal lobe", Br J Neurosurg. 2006 Jun;20(3):156-9. (PMID 16801049)
- ↑ Blackshaw S, Bowen RC. "A case of atypical psychosis associated with alexithymia and a left fronto-temporal lesion: possible correlations", Can J Psychiatry 1987 Nov;32(8):688-92. (PMID 3690485)
- ↑ Cullum CM, Heaton RK, Harris MJ, Jeste DV. "Neurobehavioral and neurodiagnostic aspects of late-onset psychosis", Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 1994 Oct;9(5):371-82. (PMID 14589653)
- ↑ Heinrichs, RW. In Search of Madness: Schizophrenia and Neuroscience Oxford University Press, USA (March 29, 2001); p129. (ISBN 0-19-512219-4)