IUBio

Acoustic Neuroma

William H. Calvin WCalvin at U.Washington.edu
Fri May 31 20:34:16 EST 1996


Acoustic neuromas turn out to be neither acoustic nor neuroma -- they're 
schwannomas of the vestibular branch of the eighth cranial nerve (the 
cells that insulate the nerve fibers carrying information from the 
semicircular canals re balance).  They're benign tumors but, since 
they're in a small space, their growth can pressure other neural 
structures (such as the acoustic branch of that nerve, the facial nerve 
if they grow more, the brainstem if they grow a lot).  That's why they 
have to eventually be treated.

These days, they're being picked up when quite small, thanks to MRIs, 
long before they've grown to a size associated with some of the older 
textbook descriptions.  Surgery is very effective, and the treatment of 
choice.  If a patient is too old or sick or scared of surgery, then some 
of the newer radiation treatments can arrest their growth.  But the 
radiation can also damage the hearing....

I think that there are neurosurgeons at most of the major academic 
centers who specialize in this surgery, often collaborating with ear 
surgeons.

The NIH did one of its big reviews ("Consensus Statements") on the 
treatment of acoustics in 1991.  It can be found at:
  http://text.nlm.nih.gov/nih/cdc/www/87txt.html
but it's written for specialists, not patients.
-- 


  William H. Calvin                   WCalvin at U.Washington.edu
                       http://weber.u.washington.edu/~wcalvin/



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