Psychiatric manifestations of brain tumours: a review

Abstract

Objective: To carry out a current review of psychiatric manifestations of brain tumours

Data Source: To carry out a review of psychiatric manifestations of brain tumours utilizing electronic databases in the internet including Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, MedScape and Psych Info Searches.

Data Extraction: Abstracts of relevant articles identified were assessed, read, and analysed to determine their eligibility and relevance to the subject under review

Data Synthesis: After establishing eligibility and relevance from abstracts, the entire article was read and the significant points incorporated in the subject under review

Conclusion: Tumours of the brain can present clinically with neurological or psychiatric symptoms or a combination of both. Rarely patients present with psychiatric symptoms without physical or neurological localizing symptoms frequently leading to misdiagnosis and mistreatment with psychotropic drugs. Clinicians must have high index of suspicion when managing psychiatric symptoms that are atypical, new-onset, anxiety, or with poor response and resistance to known and efficacious psychopharmaco-therapy treatment regimes, as there may be an underlying brain tumour responsible for the symptomatology. This must be ruled out through effective neuro-imaging techniques including Computerized Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and if diagnosis confirmed, treated definitively by surgical excision, radiotherapy and chemotherapy alone or in combination.