Calcium deposits on the brain -- also known as cranial calcification -- occur when a medical disorder causes your body to deposit calcium in your brain rather than in teeth or bones. Calcium deposits in the brain can cause changes in brain function. These changes in brain function may lead to the occurrence of a seizure.
Disorders Causing Brain Calcium Deposits
Several medical disorders affect your body's ability to metabolize calcium, potentially causing calcium to be deposited in the brain. These disorders include hyperparathyroidism, pseudohyperparathyroidism, nephrocalcinosis and hypercalcemia. Other disorders involving the metabolism of calcium include the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, kidney stones, Paget's disease, osteomalacia and rickets. These disorders may have a genetic basis, being passed from parents to children, according to online medical encyclopedia MedLine Plus. Alternatively, calcium-metabolism disorders may occur due to illnesses including alcoholism, diarrhea, severe malnutrition or starvation.
Expert Insight
A study undertaken in an Australian outpatient clinic was reported in the November 2004 issue of the "Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry." A team of neuroscientists led by Dr. Mona Pfaender reported that patients with the digestive disorder celiac disease may experience calcification of the brain's occipital lobe, leading to epileptic seizures. For the three patients involved in the study, calcification of the occipital lobe led to seizures involving visual disturbances such as hallucinations, blurry or unfocused vision, or the appearance of colored dots in the visual field. Complex-partial, simple partial and secondary generalized seizures were experienced by these patients.
Diagnosis
Calcium deposits in the brain may show up on computerized tomography (CT) scans, or on magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) results. CT scans are commonly used to look for scars -- also known as lesions -- in the brain tissue. Such lesions may be the cause of epileptic seizures. Sometimes lesions become calcified, and the calcification is then visible on CT or MRI results. A study reported in the October 2003 issue of the "Journal of Tropical Pediatrics" indicated that calcified lesions visible on a CT scan were one of the predictors of continuing seizure activity in pediatric patients.
Treatment
If you or your child experiences recurring seizures due to calcium deposits in the brain, antiepileptic medications are likely to be prescribed by your doctor. Antiepileptic drugs, also known as AEDs, are the most common method of seizure control for patients with epilepsy. Additionally, medical intervention to treat the cause of calcification in the brain may reduce the degree of calcification and therefore the number of seizures related to calcium deposits in the brain. For example, when cranial calcification is caused by celiac disease, a gluten-free diet may reduce the symptoms of the disease, including cranial calcification. You should not attempt self-diagnosis or self-treatment of any seizure disorder -- consult your doctor for medical advice tailored to your health and condition.
References
- MedLine Plus: Cranial Calcification
- MedLine Plus: Mineral Metabolism Disorders
- "Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry"; Visual Disturbances Representing Occipital Lobe Epilepsy in Patients with Cerebral Calcifications and Coeliac Disease: A Case Series; M. Pfaender et al.; November 2004
- "Journal of Tropical Pediatrics"; One vs. Two Years of Anti-Epileptic Therapy in Children with Single Small Enhancing CT Lesions; P.D. Singhi et al.; October 2003
