6 symptoms that may indicate the presence of a brain tumor

Brain tumors are considered one of the deadliest forms of cancer, but not everyone knows their basic signs.

Symptoms depend on where the tumors are located in the brain, and they can often be missed in the early stages of the disease, when treatment is easier, and they can easily be confused with other conditions, so it is important to know what to pay attention to.

1. Quick anger

Personality changes can be an early warning sign of brain tumors, with one in three patients experiencing this change, according to the Brain Tumor Charity.

The disease can cause people to feel angry more easily, as well as aggressive, confused or forgetful.

Loss of motivation, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and difficulty planning, organizing, or identifying emotions can also be symptoms.

As the tumor grows, it can put pressure on surrounding brain cells, affecting how they function.

Personality changes are more common when the tumor is in the frontal lobe, which controls personality and emotions.

2. Growth spurts

Brain tumors can affect the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that makes hormones, including those that cause growth.

In rare cases, this means that brain cancer can cause people to grow taller quickly.

The strange symptoms are particularly subtle in children, who are expected to go through sudden periods of adolescence as part of puberty.

Tumors can also cause other hormonal changes such as delayed puberty, changes in the menstrual cycle, increased sex drive or unexplained weight gain or loss, according to Brain Tumor Research.

3. Difficulty expressing through facial expressions

The disease can also lead to nerve damage, which may cause patients to struggle to use facial expressions.

They may not be able to smile, frown, or move their faces normally when speaking.

Nerve paralysis can also fix the face in a certain position or cause weakness or drooping on one side.

4. Hearing voices in the head

Some brain cancers can cause symptoms that may seem more like a mental health problem than a physical illness.

Tumors in the temporal lobe can cause voices to be heard in the head, according to Cancer Research UK.

The charity said the disease can also cause short-term memory loss and difficulty hearing and speaking.

5. Difficulty reading

The disease often affects patients' brain functions, and thus their ability to think or read.

This symptom is particularly common with tumors in the midbrain, says Dr. Donald O'Rourke, a neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine.

He explained that the two sides of the brain are connected to each other to perform functions such as thinking, writing, and remembering, and when the tumor disrupts this communication, “it is devastating,” so that more difficulties can be observed in writing, or understanding the meaning of speech, even if the patient is able to read it clearly.

6. The need to use the bathroom frequently

Brain tumors can cause changes in the endocrine system, a network of glands and organs that use hormones to control a range of body functions.

In some cases, this can make people feel like they need to go to the toilet more often, according to the brain tumor charity.

The tumor can also cause fatigue, sensitivity to cold and thirst, diabetes, poor fertility, and erectile dysfunction.

Tumors in the spinal cord can also lead to urinary incontinence in some cases.

A study reveals that a “daily addition” to your diet may reduce the risk of demuentia!

A new study has found that people who eat whole grains daily, which may also include healthy popcorn, may be less likely to suffer from dementia.

Researchers at Rush University in Chicago made this discovery after tracking 3,300 adults, who were on average 75 years old and did not suffer from dementia, for six years and tested their cognitive abilities, such as having to remember a list of words, remember numbers and return them to the correct order.

They found that those who ate three or more ounces of whole grains daily, such as lightly salted popcorn or quinoa, had a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those who barely ate grains.

The researchers observed the effect only in black participants, who constitute 60% of the study participants.

They may not have seen the same thing among white participants, because there were so few in the study.

It has also been shown that people who eat whole grains are also more likely to follow a healthy lifestyle, such as sleeping or exercising more, which also helps reduce the risk of dementia.

Whole grains contain a very high percentage of fiber, which slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream and prevents high blood sugar, which can cause plaque in the arteries and inflammation, which increases the risk of dementia.

It is noteworthy that the study is observational, and was unable to prove that eating popcorn alone reduces the risk of dementia.

It also did not take into account toppings placed on popcorn, such as butter and sugar, which may increase the risk of dementia by increasing the risk of obesity.

Study limitations include self-reporting of diets, with participants not being asked to provide evidence of the whole grains they ate.

The study was published in  Neurology .