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'Hidden' Brain Abnormalities Common

Benign Tumors, Aneurysms and 'Silent' Strokes More Common Than Many Think

Brain
New research suggests more people than previously thought may have asymptomatic brain abnormalities. (PhotoDisc)

Could you have a brain tumor -- and not even know it?

New research suggests that benign brain tumors, hidden brain aneurysms and "silent" strokes are all more common than we think. And some of us are walking around with them without even knowing it.

Incidental brain findings -- brain abnormalities that show few if any outward signs -- are common in the general population, researchers say in a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dutch researchers used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to take a peek at the brains of 2,000 healthy individuals with an average age of 63.

What they found was that as many as 7 percent of the subjects had signs of stroke. Nearly 2 percent had a benign brain tumor, and nearly another 2 percent had a brain aneurysm.

The researchers also noted that older subjects seemed to be more likely to show the signs of hidden strokes and benign brain tumors including meningiomas -- a finding consistent with previous research. Brain aneurysms, on the other hand, showed no such age-related increase.

Is Ignorance Bliss?

The findings raise an interesting question: Is it better to know about a brain abnormality, even if you have no symptoms?

Some experts believe that knowing that one has a brain tumor may result in faster treatment rather than discovering it later, when it produces symptoms such as headache or vision changes.

Dr. Henry Brem, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, believes that this knowledge may be beneficial because less risk is involved when small tumors are managed before they create symptoms.

"More knowledge is always beneficial," he said. "With additional discoveries of earlier stage brain diseases, the patient and physician have the opportunity to individualize the treatment and make the best decision for that individual patient.

"Overall this will lead to better outcomes with less complication."

'Hidden' Brain Abnormalities Common
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