Arachnoid cyst precautions and care matters

Arachnoid cyst is a congenital disease with the highest incidence in children. Common manifestations of this disease are hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure. A lot of attention needs to be paid to the daily care of the patient, such as paying more attention to the patient's psychology, eating a reasonable diet, and paying more attention to rest.

1. Arachnoid cyst care

1. Maintain an optimistic and happy mood. Long-term mental tension, anxiety, irritability, pessimism and other emotions will disrupt the balance of the excitation and inhibition processes of the cerebral cortex, so you need to maintain a happy mood.

2. Living a moderate life, paying attention to rest, combining work and rest, living an orderly life, and maintaining an optimistic, positive and upward attitude towards life will greatly help prevent diseases. Have regular meals and tea, regular daily life, avoid overwork, maintain a cheerful mood, and develop good living habits.

3. A reasonable diet can include more high-fiber and fresh vegetables and fruits, and a balanced nutrition, including essential nutrients such as protein, sugar, fat, vitamins, trace elements and dietary fiber. A combination of meat and vegetables and a diversified food variety can give full play to the complementary effects of nutrients between foods, which is also helpful in preventing this disease.

2. Causes

1. Congenital factors (35%)

Congenital arachnoid cyst is a common type, and its cause is not fully understood. The following speculations are made: ① The cause of this disease may be that during embryonic development, a small piece of arachnoid membrane falls into the subarachnoid space and develops. That is, the cyst is located in the arachnoid membrane. Under the microscope, it can be seen that the arachnoid membrane is split into two layers around the cyst. The outer layer constitutes the surface of the cyst, and the inner layer constitutes the cyst base. There is still a subarachnoid space between the pia mater and the cyst base. ② Others believe that during embryonic development, the pulsation of the choroid plexus acts as a pump for cerebrospinal fluid, separating the loose perimedullar network surrounding the nerve tissue to form the subarachnoid space. If the early cerebrospinal fluid flow is abnormal, cysts may form in the perimedullar network. ③Because this disease is often accompanied by other congenital abnormalities, such as ectopic choroid plexus in the cyst, partial absence of the falx cerebri, and absence of the orbital plate, temporal lobe and internal carotid artery, all confirm that the basic cause of this disease is brain hypoplasia. There is no consensus on the reasons for the continuous enlargement of arachnoid cysts. The possible reasons are: ① There are small holes in the cyst wall that communicate with the subarachnoid space. Cerebrospinal fluid continuously flows into the cyst through this hole. The small hole acts as a valve, and the pulsation of the skull base artery causes the cyst to gradually enlarge. It is also possible that some factors cause the small holes to be blocked, resulting in increased intracranial pressure. ② There is an ectopic choroid plexus in the cyst, which secretes excessive cerebrospinal fluid and cannot be absorbed. ③ In some cases, the cyst is not connected to the subarachnoid space, the protein content in the cyst fluid increases, and the difference in osmotic pressure between inside and outside the cyst causes the cyst to gradually increase in size. ④ Venous bleeding inside the cyst or on the cyst wall causes the cyst cavity to rapidly enlarge.

2. Infection (30%)

After meningitis, cysts are formed due to local adhesion of the arachnoid membrane, and the cysts are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Most of them are multiple. More common in children. It is commonly found in the chiasmatic cistern, basal cistern, cerebellomedullary cistern, and ambient cistern. The cerebrospinal fluid circulation pathway is blocked.

3. Damage (20%)

Leptomeningeal cyst. The mechanism of occurrence is that the injury causes a linear skull fracture, accompanied by a tear in the dura mater, bleeding in the subarachnoid space below or adhesions around the edge of the arachnoid mater, causing local cerebrospinal fluid circulation disorders, resulting in the local arachnoid protruding into the dura mater tear and fracture line, and gradually forming a cyst under the continuous impact of brain pulsation, causing the fracture edge to continue to expand, which is called a growing fracture. The cyst may protrude under the scalp and may also compress the underlying cerebral cortex. The cyst is filled with clear fluid and is surrounded by scar tissue. If the pia mater is damaged during trauma, brain tissue may herniate into the fracture site, causing the ipsilateral ventricle to expand and even forming a brain perforation malformation. This disease is more common in infants and young children.