About half of all patients experience some form of seizure during their illness. Mental changes Mental changes frequently occur. Changes in behavior, temperament and personality are other indications of mental change. Mental changes are caused directly by the tumor, by increased pressure within the skull or by involvement of the areas of the brain that control personality. These all result in mass effect.
Mass effect can cause further damage by compressing and displacing delicate brain tissue.
The symptoms caused by increased intracranial pressure include nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, vision problems such as blurred or double vision or loss of peripheral vision, and the headaches and mental changes already mentioned. It can be observed by your doctor when he examines your eyes. This sign is common in young children, in persons with slow growing tumors, with tumors in the posterior fossa, and in older patients. As pressure increases, the patient's level of consciousness decreases. Prompt treatment is required to avoid serious consequences.