Symptoms of Cerebral Lymphomas
Diverse symptoms can occur in case of a lymphoma in the brain (cerebral lymphoma). Just as in any other brain tumors, the symptoms related to a brain lymphoma, depend on the size and location of tumor in the brain.
Early symptoms of lymphoma in the brain are:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomit
Headache
Headache (cephalalgia) is among one of the early symptoms of lymphoma in the brain (cerebral lymphoma) and so called Secondary headaches. The pain may occur in different areas of the head, for example, one or both sides. Also on the forehead, the temples, behind the eyes, neck or occipital headaches may occur.
Nausea
Nausea is also among the early symptoms of lymphoma in the brain (cerebral lymphoma). Nausea (feeling sick) is a mood disorder that is commonly referred to as a “sinking feeling” in the stomach area. The feeling of nausea is introduced by vomiting centre of the brain. Depending on the cause of the nausea it can also cause abdominal pain or gastrointestinal spasms.
Vomiting
Vomiting is also occur due to cerebral lymphoma. Vomiting is basically a protective mechanism of the body to gets rid of harmful substances. Physicians designate vomiting as emesis or vomiting. The feeling of nausea and the stimulation of vomiting occur in the brain . The vomiting is controlled by a complex reflex mechanism by the vomiting center of the brainstem. Various causes and circumstances can provoke this vomiting center. But cerebral lymphoma is not always the reason of vomiting, some other causes such as use of drugs and alcohol, external stimuli, such as disgust and physical stimuli (eg finger stuck in the throat), other brain diseases, digestive diseases, mental disorders, vomiting during pregnancy and vomiting after anesthesia.
Furthermore, a cerebral lymphoma causes noticeable paralysis, which are limited to one side of the body (so-called Hemiparesis). If the lymphoma is in the cerebellum, it may cause balance disorders and dizziness.
Since the eyes are also affected by brain lymphoma (approximately every tenth person face this problem), so vision problems also come as symptoms into consideration. The cerebral lymphoma may infested the vitreous, the retina and the middle eye skin (uvea).
About half of all people with lymphoma in the brain faces memory problems , confusion and other neuropsychological symptoms such as personality changes. More rarely, a cerebral lymphoma trigger epileptic seizures.
If a cerebral lymphoma spreads in the meninges, it can characterized accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ) in the cerebrospinal fluid compartments: The brain water chambers dilate and it results in a so called occlusive hydrocephalus. In rare cases, when a lymphoma in the brain is spread into the blood vessels , a symptoms similar to hypoperfusion of the brain (which so-called Cerebral ischemia) are occur.