There are many diseases that can causedisability or death. One of them is cerebral arachnoiditis. With this disease, sick people need immediate and effective treatment. With timely therapy, the prognosis for life is favorable. How can cerebral arachnoiditis be detected? How is he treated? Before answering these questions, it is worth understanding what arachnoiditis is, how it is classified.
What is arachnoiditis?
The human brain and spinal cord are covered with threemeninges: hard, arachnoid (arachnoid) and soft. Inflammation of the arachnoid is a disease called arachnoiditis. In 60% of cases, the disease provokes infectious and infectious-allergic diseases. In 30% of cases, arachnoiditis occurs due to a traumatic brain injury received earlier. Other people diagnosed with the disease fail to establish etiology.
The term "arachnoiditis" has not been applied topractice. Experts explain this by the fact that there is no isolated lesion of the arachnoid dura mater, because it lacks its own vascular system. Signs of arachnoiditis in modern medicine are referred to as serous meningitis.
Classification of the disease
Depending on the localization of the pathologicalprocess emit several types of disease. One of them is spinal arachnoiditis. In this disease, inflammation occurs in the brain membrane that surrounds the spinal cord. Another type is cerebral arachnoiditis. When it affects only the shell of the brain. Cerebrospinal arachnoiditis is characterized by a combination of the above two types of disease.
There is another classification. According to her there are the following types of illness, it is arachnoiditis:
- posterior cranial fossa;
- brain bases (basal);
- the convex surface of the cerebral hemispheres (convexital);
- in the area of optic chiasm (optic-chiasmatic);
- most of the pectoralis corner.
Depending on the morphological changes emit:
- adhesive;
- adhesive and cystic;
- cerebral cystic arachnoiditis.
Causes of cerebral arachnoiditis
This disease can occur ascomplications in various infectious diseases, to develop due to inflammatory processes occurring in the middle ear, paranasal sinuses. Thus, causative factors include rheumatism, influenza, chronic tonsillitis, otitis, rhinosinusitis, measles, scarlet fever, etc.
The cause of the disease sometimes actstraumatic brain injury. This is post-traumatic cerebral arachnoiditis. Some experts believe that the disease may occur after birth trauma and be felt in mature years after injury or infection.
General cerebral symptoms
Cerebral arachnoiditis is characteristiccertain clinical manifestations. First of all, the disease makes itself felt cerebral symptoms. Often there is a headache. She is the strongest in the morning. In some people, it is accompanied by nausea, vomiting.
Headache may worsen with tensionstraining, awkward movements. In addition to it, people with cerebral arachnoiditis have dizziness. Patients deteriorate memory, irritability appears, fatigue quickly occurs, sleep is disturbed, and general weakness is observed.
Symptoms reflecting the localization of the pathological process
Cerebral symptoms are not the only ones with cerebral arachnoiditis. Symptoms may appear additional, which reflect the localization of the shell process:
- При арахноидите задней черепной ямки наблюдается ataxia. This is a violation of the coordination of muscle movements in the absence of muscle weakness. Also, nystagmus occurs. This term refers to the spontaneous movement of the eyeballs.
- The basal type of the disease is characterized by dysfunction of those nerves, which are located on the base of the skull.
- With convexital arachnoiditis, general and Jackson epileptic seizures may occur.
- For optic-chiasmatic type of diseasecharacteristic deterioration of vision. Sick people mark the "grid before the eyes." With severe illness comes blindness. Hypothalamic disturbances (eg, increased urination, thirst) are sometimes manifested.
- With arachnoiditis of the bridge cerebellar angle, people suffer from headache, localized in the occipital region, tinnitus. Patients have paroxysmal dizziness.
Diagnosis of cerebral arachnoiditis
The diagnosis is made by specialists taking into accountclinical manifestations of the disease and the results of neurological examination. It includes studies of visual acuity, visual fields and fundus. Craniography is also performed. This is a radiography of the skull without contrasting. With cerebral arachnoiditis, oblique signs of intracranial hypertension can be identified on the review craniograms.
The head electroencephalogram is also performed.the brain. The main role in the diagnosis is pneumoencephalogram. The study makes it possible to detect uneven filling with air of the subarachnoid space, expansion of the ventricles of the brain, and focal air accumulations. For more information and exclusion of other diseases, sick people are prescribed:
- CT scan;
- angiography;
- Magnetic resonance imaging;
- scintigraphy;
- other diagnostic methods.
Elimination of the disease
Cerebral arachnoiditis disease should be treated for a long time, courses. To eliminate the source of infection, doctors prescribe antibiotics to their patients. The following remedies are also used:
- anti-inflammatory;
- absorbable;
- hyposensitizing;
- dehydration, etc.
With increased intracranial pressure,diuretics (for example, "Furosemide", "Mannitol") and decongestants. If the patients have convulsions, the doctors prescribe anti-epileptic drugs. If necessary, apply symptomatic drugs.
Surgery
Применение медикаментов не всегда способствует elimination of such diseases as cerebral arachnoiditis. Treatment in some cases is prescribed surgery. Indications for surgery are:
- no improvement after drug therapy;
- increase intracranial hypertension;
- increase in focal symptoms;
- the presence of optic-chiasmatic arachnoiditis, which is characterized by steady visual impairment.
For example, a neurosurgical operation may beheld during the development of the adhesive process with the formation of adhesions or cystic process in a disease such as cerebral arachnoiditis of the brain. Treatment of this kind will get rid of obstacles that interfere with the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid.
Prediction and working capacity for cerebral arachnoiditis
Normally, the patient’s life is not threatened iftreatment started in a timely manner. A good prognosis is given for the convexital form of the disease. Worse, it is with opio-chiasmatic inflammation. There is a particular danger in the arachnoiditis of the posterior cranial fossa with occlusive hydrocephalus. It is worth noting that the prognosis can significantly worsen the existing diseases, injuries.
People due to illness can be recognized as disabledGroup III, if the amount of their production activity decreases in light work. With a severe deterioration of vision, frequent convulsive seizures, disability of group II is established. Persons with disabilities I group become due to vision loss caused by optic-chiasmatic arachnoiditis.
Causes of disability
Выше было сказано, что церебральный арахноидит can lead to disability. Thus, the disease provokes disability, that is, patients completely or partially lose the ability or ability to implement the main components of daily life. This happens for the following reasons:
- Convulsive seizures. Sick people periodically lose control over their behavior. In this regard, limited livelihoods and disability.
- Ухудшение зрительных функций.People suffering from cerebral arachnoiditis, reduced sharpness and narrowed field of view. They can not work with small details, perform their professional duties, which require eye strain. Some constantly need the help of others because of blindness.
- Liquorodynamic disorders in case of diseasecerebral arachnoiditis. Consequences - manifestation of hypertensive syndrome with repeated crises. Crises are accompanied by dizziness, orientation disorder.
- Neurasthenia and concomitant vegetative dystonia.In humans, endurance to climatic factors decreases, and the ability for prolonged physical and mental stress is lost. Patients react negatively to loud sounds, too bright light.
Prevention of disease
Cerebral arachnoiditis can be avoided.So, in order not to face this disease, it is necessary to pay attention to its prevention. It consists in the timely treatment of those ailments that can provoke arachnoiditis. For example, when the first signs of sinusitis, otitis appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. A specialist will promptly prescribe an effective therapy. Adequate treatment is also necessary for traumatic brain injury.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that cerebralBrain arachnoiditis is a disease that is not so easy to diagnose. When suspicious symptoms are assigned to various studies. Differential diagnostics is also carried out, for many diseases share a similar clinical picture (for example, brain tumors, normotensive hydrocephalus, neurosarcoidosis, multiple sclerosis, idiopathic epilepsy).
