Dear jim2346-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
The condition you are speaking of is called a “choroid plexus cyst”.
How do I know this? During my wife’s pregnancy, a sonogram revealed
that our unborn daughter had a choroid plexus cyst. My 35 year old
wife had already experienced three miscarriages and now, finally, we
had what we had hoped was a viable pregnancy at last. Then this
terrible news – BRAIN TUMOR!
No, wait a minute...
That’s only what I (and thousands of other expectant parents each
year) “THINK” that I heard when the doctor said, “brain” and “cyst” in
the same breath. Of course, like everyone else, I panicked and dreaded
each and every miserable day until the next sonogram, and the next,
and the next like you are probably doing now. Well, don’t. My
beautiful daughter is now 4 years old. She is intelligent (already
reads) and healthy (as big as a normal 6 year old) as she is beautiful
(just like her mommy). While this cyst IS in the brain, and some
people do sometimes refer to a cyst as a “tumor”, this is by NO MEANS
a malignant brain tumor of the type we all hear about. So get that out
of your mind right now.
Here’s the real story on “CPC’s”…
* Because this information is of a medical nature (and because I am a
researcher and not a licensed medical professional) in the interest of
accuracy I will quote the medical explanation as provided by
MASSACHEUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL NEUROLOGY SERVICE, “CHOROID PLEXUS
CYST INFO” rather than risk an error by paraphrasing it.
http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/neurowebforum/ChildNeurologyArticles/ChoroidPlexusCystInfo.html
“Choroid plexus cysts (CPCs) are pockets of fluid that develop in the
Choroid Plexus, which are bilateral cavities located at the base of
the brain near the ventricles. These cavities contain fluid that
bathes the spinal cord (via the ventricles) and the brain itself.
During a sonogram, a technician will look for any dark spots in the
choroid plexus, which indicates a dense mass of fluid or a cyst. Any
cyst above 10mm in the second trimester is cause for concern. The
fetus' brain begins to develop at the beginning of the 24th week of
pregnancy, which may have a link to why the cysts resolve themselves
by the 26th week.”
“We obtained a summary of a recent OBYGYN study which reported the
following results:
1-2% of all pregnancies have fetuses with CPCs.
50% of the cases in a study of fetuses with CPCs had bilateral choroid
plexus cysts.
90% of the cases had CPCs that resolved themselves by the 26th week.”
In laymen’s terms, this “cyst” is usually a small measure of the
normal fluid, or “water” as it is sometimes called, that becomes
trapped between folds of the brain is a kind of pocket. It appears on
the sonogram as somewhat of a “bubble”. As the brain grows, these
folds often expand and release the underlying fluid, thus correcting
the “problem”. So for now at least, relax. There is no need to panic.
There is more growing to do and more sonograms yet before anything
worthy of worrying about ever takes place, if it takes place at all.
While this condition is not all that common, it’s not a reason to
close up your mental shop or put things on hold either. Much more
often than not these cysts resolve themselves.
Because you also wanted to know the possible implications, I should
tell you that in relatively rare situations where the cyst does not
resolve itself, there “could” be some chromosomal abnormalities. But
again these are rare:
EDWARDS SYNDROME and TRISOMY 18 (a form of Down’s Syndrome)
You might prefer to generally familiarize yourself with these
syndromes in case you were ever to hear their names again, but do
yourself (and your daughter) a BIG favor and don’t dwell on them. If
this is the first sonogram then it’s far to soon for any worries like
that. You can read more about these syndromes here. Keep in mind that
your grandchild is not necessarily at risk for ALL the syndromes on
this page:
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section19/chapter261/261l.htm
After reading about these two syndromes you will undoubtedly have
questions. Just read these FAQ’s and settle down:
KAISER PERMANENTE DIVISION OF RESEARCH
“CHOROID PLEXUS CYST - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS”
http://www.dor.kaiser.org/genetics/OurServices/ChoroidCystsMain.html
Be informed, but be patient and calm - really. Enjoy this special
moment. I hope that your situation ends up as happily and uneventful
as ours did. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
CHOROID PLEXUS CYST WEB SITE
http://www.choroidplexuscyst.org/
CHOROID PLEXUS CYST MESSAGE BOARD
http://choroidplexuscyst.org/cpc1.html
MASSACHEUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL NEUROLOGY SERVICE
“CHOROID PLEXUS CYST INFO”
http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/neurowebforum/ChildNeurologyArticles/ChoroidPlexusCystInfo.html
MERCK MANUAL OF MEDICAL INFORMATION
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_home/contents.htm
KAISER PERMANENTE DIVISION OF RESEARCH
“CHOROID PLEXUS CYST - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS”
http://www.dor.kaiser.org/genetics/OurServices/ChoroidCystsMain.html
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Choroid plexus cyst
Merck manual
SUCCESSFUL SEARCH EXAMPLE:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=choroid+plexus+cyst |
