Meningioma (Meninges Tumor): Signs and Symptoms

Meningioma is the most common type of tumor that develops in the head. The tumor grows from the meninges, the membranes (thin layers of tissue) surrounding your brain and spinal cord. Most meningiomas are noncancerous.

Meningiomas typically grow slowly, so symptoms develop and become more noticeable over time. If you have symptoms, you may notice headaches, dizziness, or speech changes.

Small tumors may have no symptoms, so your healthcare provider may choose to monitor the tumor without treatment. If the tumor is larger and pressing on surrounding tissue, you may experience neurological symptoms, and your healthcare may recommend surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to determine if symptoms are from a meningioma or other conditions that can present similarly. If you have any meningioma symptoms, contact your healthcare provider to confirm the cause.

Because of the limited space in the skull, larger meningiomas can put pressure on the surrounding tissue in the brain. When this happens, you may develop neurological changes, like headaches and movement issues.

Seizures

If you have a meningioma, you may experience seizures. Generalized seizures and partial seizures are two types of seizures that can happen due to the increased pressure from a meningioma.

Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain, and you may lose consciousness during one. A partial seizure starts in one part of the brain and usually causes irregular body movements or changes in sensation in one part of your body. Some people with a meningioma may experience both types of seizures.

Dementia

Meningiomas can cause reversible dementia.

Symptoms may include memory loss or difficulty thinking. For some people, these symptoms could affect their social or work life; meningiomas that cause neurological symptoms like difficulty controlling emotions and decision-making may make it difficult to care for yourself without help.

Muscle Changes

Meningiomas can cause changes to your muscles, making them stiff or weak. Some people may experience the clonus reflex, which is when a specific joint rhythmically pulses back and forth when it’s flexed.

Muscle weakness or paralysis can also happen due to meningiomas, affecting most places in your body, including your face. Some people develop weakness in their jaw, which may affect how they eat or speak.

Sensory Changes

Other neurological changes due to a meningioma include differences in smell, hearing, and vision.

If you have an olfactory groove meningioma—a rare tumor that grows along the nerves between the brain and the nose—you may develop Foster-Kennedy syndrome. This condition can cause vision loss in one or both eyes and loss of smell.

If the meningioma is pressing on cranial nerves (nerves in the brain), you may have hearing loss, neck pain, or bulging eyes.

Meningiomas in the front and center of the brain may cause personality changes.

Psychological Symptoms

Meningiomas in the brain can cause depression symptoms, including:

• Persistent sadness
• Anxiety
• Hopelessness or pessimism
• Low energy
• Difficulty sleeping
• Loss of interest in hobbies

Meningiomas can also cause psychiatric syndromes like mania, hallucinations, and anorexia. Because someone can have these symptoms without having a meningioma, having only psychological symptoms of a meningioma—and no neurological symptoms—can make diagnosis difficult.

Meningiomas are rare in children and adolescents. On average, childhood meningiomas occur around the age of 13, with 4% of cases affecting children 1 year or younger.

Symptoms of a meningioma in children include:

• Headache
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Drowsiness
• Papilledema, or swelling of the optic nerve in the eye
• Intracranial hypertension, a condition that builds pressure in the skull

While meningiomas affect more adult women than men, among children, there is no difference in occurrence between the sexes.

Meningiomas become more common as people age, peaking in adults 75 years or older. Women are more than twice as likely to develop meningiomas than men—and three times as likely during child-bearing years. Symptoms include weakness in the arms and legs, sensory and vision changes, and seizures.

If you already have a meningioma and become pregnant, the meningioma may grow. Most meningiomas have receptors that react to the hormone progesterone. Progesterone levels can rise when you’re pregnant, which may cause a change in the tumor’s size and lead to worsening symptoms.

You should contact your healthcare provider for any signs or symptoms of a meningioma. See your healthcare team if you experience:

• Decreased muscle strength or difficulty moving
• Vision changes or headaches
• Personality changes

These symptoms may mean that your tumor is pressing on the surrounding tissue in the brain or spine.

If you experience a seizure for the first time or while pregnant, go to the emergency room immediately. Call 911 for any seizures that:

• Cause an injury or trouble breathing
• Last longer than five minutes
• Happen in water
• Happen one after the other

Any of these events may be a medical emergency that requires quick treatment.

The type and size of the meningioma will determine your healthcare provider’s treatment options. Their first course of action will usually involve routine imaging tests and close monitoring of small benign meningiomas. For large, fast-growing symptomatic meningiomas, they’ll need to do surgery.

A meningioma is a tumor that starts in the skull. It’s typically noncancerous and slow-growing. Small meningiomas may not cause any symptoms.

You might be more likely to experience symptoms if the tumor is bigger. Your symptoms would depend on the meningioma’s location in the brain and may include dizziness, headaches, pain, or seizures.

If you have any of these symptoms, contact your healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.