A 60-year-old woman's brain tumour caused her to suddenly become obsessed about religion.

The unidentified patient, from Spain, was found to have an aggressive form of cancer after complaining of unusual symptoms.

Not only was she reporting signs of depression - typical with a brain tumour, but she believed she was in contact with the Virgin Mary, it is reported.

The unidentified woman, from Spain, was found to have an aggressive form of cancer after complaining of unusual symptoms - such as speaking to the Virgin Mary

In a case report published in the journal Neurocase, it explained how the woman was not overly religious.

However, those around her began to notice a slight change in her personality, LiveScience reports.

Not only did she succumb to sadness, but she began to show a degree of interest in the Bible.

Her condition then escalated and she began to spend significant portions of her day reciting religious text.

According to the researchers, from the Hospital General Universitario Morales Meseguer in Murcia, she reported seeing, feeling and talking with the Virgin Mary.

Her family thought it may just be signs of depression, but doctors recommended she be taken to hospitals for tests to be sure.

Her symptoms were caused by a brain tumour - but researchers are yet to pinpoint how it caused her to suffer from the strange sensation (stock)

An MRI scan revealed that she had a glioblastoma multiforme - of which only five per cent of patients are alive five years after their diagnosis.

But the tumours were too large to be removed, leaving her with just the option to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

HOW DID THE TUMOUR TURN HER RELIGIOUS? The researchers aren't clearly as to how the hyper-religious behaviour could have been caused. However, because she did not believe in God it may have made her more prone to the experience, they said. They were unable to pinpoint the part of the brain responsible, but said the right temporal lobe could have been affected. This region of the brain has previously been linked to mystical experiences. Previous studies have also suggested that up to a quarter of brain tumours give off psychotic symptoms at first - such as hyper-religious behaviour. While the researchers also said it was possible that she suffered from epilepsy - another known factor of a sudden religious obsession. Advertisement

After also being given some anti-psychotic drugs, her religious symptoms disappeared over a five-week period.

However, her condition quickly deteriorated and she died just eight months after being diagnosed.

Writing in the journal, the researchers said: 'it is clear that the religious experience represented a fracture' from her prior behavior that was 'not preceded by a gradual change in her thinking and acting'.

'Nor was there any kind of trigger or reason [for the behaviour change] except for the disease, and hence, it can be considered a clearly pathological experience,' they added.

But they were unsure how patients could possibly become obsessed with religion as a symptom of having the brain tumour.

This comes after a seven-year-old boy was found to smile moments before having a seizure as a result of a rare condition.

Nathan Box, seven, from Hornchurch, was struck down by a mystery illness two years ago - but doctors assumed it was just epilepsy.

However, a string of tests revealed he was suffering from an incredibly rare brain tumour called hypothalamic hamartoma.

The side effects of his condition means he breaks into a grin shortly before having a seizure - of which he can have up to 25 in a day.