A 10-year-old Hispanic male is brought to the emergency room. His mother reports that he was sitting at the dining room table when he fell to the floor and began to twitch all over. He has no...

A 10-year-old Hispanic male is brought to the emergency room. His mother reports that he was sitting at the dining room table when he fell to the floor and began to twitch all over. He has no significant past medical history, but he has recently been complaining of a headache that is worse in the mornings. On MRI he is found to have a mass in the right lateral ventricle. What is the explanation of his symptoms?

 A. Pressure of the expanding tumor mass on nearby tissue

 B. Infection or bleeding from ulceration of surfaces

 C. Infarction or rupture

 D. Production of hormones or other molecules that affect distant organs (paraneoplastic syndrome)