Our vascular system is a fundamental element for our survival, since it allows the oxygen and nutrients that our cells need to reach them through the blood. Thus, our life can be in serious danger if this system is damaged, depending on the area and type of blood vessels affected.
Sometimes malformations or neoplasms also occur in the form of uncontrolled and disorganized growths of blood vessels, which can also pose a danger, especially if they occur in areas such as the brain. This is what happens with cerebral hemangioma
A hemangioma is a type of neoplasia or uncontrolled growth of blood vessel cells They could be considered a type of benign tumor of the vascular system, which like other tumors can grow although they are not malignant.
The hemangioma itself can appear in different regions of the body, such as the skin, but also in areas such as the lung, stomach or brain. They can appear in the form of nodules or endothelial caverns filled with blood, which can burst and cause spills very easily.
Although in some cases they may not cause complications when they occur in organs such as the skin, when they appear in other organs such as the lung or brain can have devastating consequences.
Brain hemangioma
Cerebral hemangioma, also called cavernous angioma, is a type of hemangioma that arises in one of the areas of the brain. They are generally considered the product of congenital malformations suffered from childhood and during development. In the case of cerebral hemangioma, the consequences of it causing bleeding can be really dangerous and even the death of the subject.
This is because, similar to an aneurysm, the presence of hemorrhage within the brain can flood and drown nearby nerve cells , causing his death and loss of functions. And even if the bleeding is self-contained within the nodule itself, it can cause it to grow and compress areas of the brain. It can also cause a stroke.
Depending on the location, the consequences may be one or another. It is common for headaches, a feeling of tiredness, seizures, and sensory problems to appear. The presence of nausea and vomiting is also common. If they occur in the brain stem, they can affect cardiorespiratory and digestive function or even the death of the patient.
In most cases tend to appear supratentorially (that is, above the cerebellum) in the frontal or temporal lobes, although they can also arise in the cerebellum and pons. Movement, language, and reasoning skills may be impaired. In some cases, however, the cerebral hemangioma remains asymptomatic, despite the danger of bleeding occurring.
Causes
Brain hemangioma It is usually a congenital malformation in the form of a neoplasm The causes of it are currently little known. However, it has been detected that there are variations such as familial cavernous angioma in which the problem has been associated with genetic mutations on chromosome 7. In other cases in which it appears sporadically, it may occur due to de novo genetic mutations.
Hemangioma treatment
Treating the presence of a brain hemangioma can be complex, and you have to take into account the possibility of complications.
In cases where the hemangioma remains stable and does not cause problems or bleeding, treatment may not be performed beyond periodic monitoring of the case.
Otherwise, the main objective of interventions in this type of malformations is to get the blood to stop circulating through them so that the risks of bleeding are avoided and can be eliminated.
Because the surgery itself can be dangerous, it is usually reserved for cases where bleeding is occurring and the potential benefits outweigh the risks. The resection of the malformation must be complete, otherwise there is a risk of increased bleeding.
For this, several techniques can be used, embolization of hemangioma being frequent This procedure is based on the application of substances that plug the blood vessels, so that the blood vessel stops carrying blood and becomes encysted. Once encysted, the nodules are removed. They can also be treated with corticosteroids if it is in a slow growth phase, to reduce its size by reducing the level of inflammation of the angioma.
