Symptoms:

The specific symptoms vary, but may include:

• Decerebrate posture
• Decorticate posture
• Decreased coordination -- can cause falls
• Decreased sensation of a body area
• Fever (sometimes)
• General ill feeling
• Headache -- continues and is worse when the child wakes up
• Hearing loss
• Judgment problems
• Loss of memory
• Mood swings (emotional changes)
• Nausea
• Personality and behavior changes
• Reduced alertness
• Seizures
• Speech difficulties
• Vision problems, including double vision and decreased vision
• Vomiting -- more severe in the morning
• Weakness, lethargy
• Weakness of a body area

Infants may have the following signs and symptoms:

• Bulging fontanelles
• Increased head circumference
• No red reflex in the eye
• Opisthotonos
• Separated sutures

Additional symptoms that may be associated with primary brain tumors:

• Absent menstruation
• Breathing problems
• Confusion
• Dysfunctional movement
• Eye problems, including different size pupils, uncontrollable eye movements, and eyelid drooping
• Facial paralysis
• Hand tremor
• Hiccups
• Obesity
• Problems with the sense of smell
• Swallowing difficulty
• Tongue problems
• Uncontrollable movement

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam. The child may have a positive Babinski's reflex. The physical exam can often identify signs and symptoms that are specific to the location of the tumor. However, some tumors may not cause symptoms until they are very large and cause a rapid decline in the child's mental function.

The following tests may be used to detect a brain tumor and identify its location:

• CT-guided biopsy (may confirm the exact type of tumor)
• CT scan of the head
• EEG
• Examination of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)
• MRI of the head