Glioma Adult Health Video

Glioma is a kind of brain tumor that occurs in specialized cells called glial cells located in the central nervous system that are supposed to protect the nerve cells normally. In this video learn more about this cancer and how to prevent and treat it.

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Live a healthy lifestyle
Eat healthy diet
Get plenty of exercise
Contact doctor if suspected
Undergo therapy as directed

About this Author

Justin C. K. Davis, M.D. is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians, and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon a philosophy of excellent customer service and excellent patient care.

DR. JUSTIN C.K. DAVIS, M.D.: Hi. My name is Dr. Justin Davis. Today, I'd like to tell you about a special kind of cancer or tumor known as a glioma. A glioma is a kind of brain tumor that occurs in specialized cells called glial cells. There are a number of different kinds of glial cells. The glial cells are the cells that are located in the central nervous system, that means the brain and the spinal cord, that are not nerve cells but are cells that are there to help protect or take care of the nerve cells or the central nervous system. There's a few different main types of glial cells. These are known as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and ependymal cells. And when any of these cells go wrong or become cancerous, or start multiplying out of control, it's called a glioma. Now, there are many different symptoms of glioma depending upon the kind of glial cells that become a tumor and the location of the tumor. Probably the most important factor is the location of the tumor and how large it becomes. Some symptoms that one may have when they have any kind of brain tumor would be a headache, nausea, vomiting, seizures, weakness, loss of balance, loss of hearing, and a number of other symptoms as you can imagine because the central nervous system is so important in controlling so many functions of the body. Treatments usually combines several different therapies for the best results. These include surgery, chemotherapy and different kinds of radiation therapy. Now, what can we do to prevent glioma? Well, nobody really knows. There are some certain things that may be associated with increased incidents in gliomas, such as people that live under power lines and people that talk excessively on cellphones without something to separate them from the cellphone, but there's no evidence that clearly links this to gliomas or brain tumors at this time, so the vote is still out on that one, but it's always important with any kind of cancer or tumor to have a healthy lifestyle, which means a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, avoiding excessive amounts of meats or processed foods, and also plenty of exercise and activity. So if you think that you may be having any symptoms associated with glioma or some kind of brain tumor, it's pretty uncommon to have a brain tumor, so chances are it's not that at all, but these symptoms can be very serious and represent many kinds of diseases, all of which need to be diagnosed and treated right away.