[Preoperative and postoperative assessment of memory function for intracranial tumor patients].

Objective: To analyze the effects of intracranial tumors and tumor resection on patients' memory functions.
Methods: Four different memory scales were employed to evaluate 58 intracranial tumor patients' memory functions including short-term memory, delayed memory, clue memory and long-term memory. Thirty-five patients received postoperative follow-ups. There were also 18 healthy controls.
Results: The extra-cerebral tumor patients presented with delayed memory and long-term memory disorders while intra-cerebral tumor patients suffered from short-term, delayed and severe long-term memory disorders. Patients with dominant hemispheric tumors had more serious memory disorders in all types. Scores obtained after surgery showed an aggravated long-term memory disorder. Sellar region tumors and transsphenoidal tumor resection had no effects upon memory functions.
Conclusion: Intracranial tumors cause memory disorders. Tumors with different locations and characters have different memory impairments. Intra-cerebral tumors result in more severe memory impairment than extra-cerebral tumors. And dominant hemispheric tumors are worse than non-dominant hemispheric tumors. Tumor resection decreases long-term memory functions.