1/53. Symptomatic vasospasm after resection of a suprasellar pilocytic astrocytoma: case report and possible pathogenesis.BACKGROUND: Cerebral vasospasm from pathology other than subarachnoid hemorrhage is uncommon. A case of severe vasospasm after resection of a suprasellar pilocytic astrocytoma is reported. methods: A 45-year-old male presented with headache, left facial numbness, bilateral visual loss, and ataxia. Evaluation revealed a large suprasellar tumor, which was resected. Pathologic examination showed pilocytic astrocytoma. The patient developed hemiparesis and aphasia on the fifth postoperative day. Vascular spasm was documented on angiography and by transcranial Doppler. RESULTS: Intraarterial papaverine resulted in moderate angiographic improvement. Attempts to open middle cerebral artery branches with angioplasty were unsuccessful. The patient subsequently developed a left middle cerebral artery infarct. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first description of vasospasm after resection of an astrocytoma. Possible mechanisms contributing to this unusual complication after resection of tumors are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/53. Hemichorea and hemiballism associated with contralateral hemiparesis and ipsilateral basal ganglia lesions.We report on two patients with unilateral hyperkinetic movement disorders associated with contralateral hemiparesis and ipsilateral basal ganglia lesions. The first patient, a 47-year-old woman, had a low-grade astrocytoma located in the right basal ganglia extending into the subthalamic area and the cerebral peduncle. She presented with left hemiparesis, right hemichorea, and intermittent right-sided tremor at rest. The second patient, a 85-year-old woman, had hypertensive hemorrhage to the right posterior basal ganglia, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the lateral thalamus, and the subthalamic region with accompanying intraventricular bleeding. She developed right-sided transient hemichorea-hemiballism. A videotape illustration of one of the patients is provided. The literature on the rare occurrence of ipsilateral hemichorea-hemiballism is discussed and possible pathomechanisms are reviewed. We postulate that hemiparesis contralateral to basal ganglia lesions might have a conditioning effect on the appearance of ipsilateral dyskinetic movement disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/53. Aspecific inflammatory lesion (histiocytosis?) simulating intramedullary astrocytoma. Case report.We report an exceptional case of aspecific inflammatory lesion of the thoracic spinal cord simulating an intramedullary glial tumor. Patient history was characterized by progressive spastic paraparesis with urinary incontinence; MR imaging (T4-T5) showed an enhancing intrinsic mass lesion. Myelotomy enabled partial resection of grayish astrocytoma-like tissue. Only light microscope examination was possible and disclosed aspecific inflammatory tissue composed of eosinophils, lymphocytes and histiocytes. After the operation, the patient improved promptly and no further therapy was administered. Control MRI after four months, one year and two years showed complete disappearance of the intramedullary mass lesion and the patient remained clinically stable with no other signs of disease. Since electron microscopic as well as immunohistochemical studies were not available, a definitive histological diagnosis was not possible. However on the basis of some clinical similarities with cases of isolated histiocytosis X of the CNS reported in the literature, we suggest that a diagnosis of isolated intramedullary eosinophilic granuloma could be reasonable.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28970873738543keywords = paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/53. Acquired cerebral arteriovenous malformation induced by an anaplastic astrocytoma: an interesting case.High grade gliomas foster an environment rich in angiogenic factors that promote neovascularity. We report a case of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation, which developed in the setting of a high grade astrocytoma. The patient presented with complaints of confusion and left hemiparesis. An initial cerebral angiogram was normal. Repeat angiography six weeks later demonstrated an extremely vascular lesion with arteriovenous shunting involving the right thalamus and occipital lobe. Histopathologic evaluation of open biopsy and autopsy specimens demonstrated a high grade astrocytoma in association with an arteriovenous malformation. Immunohistochemical staining with VEGF was diffusely positive. A possible role for the hyperangiogenic environment of a high grade astrocytoma resulting in the development of an arteriovenous malformation is discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/53. Superior oblique paresis with contralateral relative afferent pupillary defect.BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to report a case of superior oblique paresis and contralateral relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD) with normal vision in a patient with brainstem astrocytoma. methods: We correlated the patient's clinical findings with anatomical substrates on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. RESULTS: The patient had right-sided superior oblique paresis. There was a left-sided RAPD, although visual acuities and visual fields were normal in both eyes. T1-weighted, gadolinium-enhanced MRI demonstrated a hyperintense area in the right dorsal midbrain. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the lesion damaged both the pretectal afferent pupillary pathway and fascicles of the trochlear nerve, causing a unique combination of neuro-ophthalmologic findings.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.7382524243126keywords = paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/53. Cranial nerve root entry zone primary cerebellopontine angle gliomas: a rare and poorly recognized subset of extraparenchymal tumors.With the exception of patients with neurofibromatosis type II, pediatric extraparenchymal cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors of any sort are extremely rare. Most gliomas encountered in the CPA in either children or adults involve the CPA as exophytic extensions of primary brain stem and/or cerebellar tumors. We encountered an unusual case of a giant CPA pilocytic astrocytoma arising from the proximal trigeminal nerve, completely separate from the brain stem. A nine-year-old girl with no evidence for any neurocutaneous syndrome, presented with headaches, mild obstructive hydrocephalus, trigeminal hypesthesia and a subtle peripheral facial paresis. Pre-operative neuroimaging suggested a petroclival meningioma. The tumor was completely resected via a right pre-sigmoid, retro-labyrinthine, subtemporal, transtentorial ('petrosal') approach, using intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, with minimal morbidity. This appears to be the first reported case of a pediatric primary CPA glioma and the seventh reported case of primary CPA glioma, overall. It represents the second reported case of a primary CPA pilocytic astrocytoma. Given the findings in this case and the six other cases of primary CPA gliomas reported in the literature, as well as the results of histological studies of normal cranial nerves, we hypothesize that the point of origin of these rare and unusual tumors is the root entry zone of the involved cranial nerves. The differential diagnosis of primary CPA tumors should be expanded to include cranial nerve root entry zone primary CPA gliomas.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28970873738543keywords = paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/53. Expression and localization of scatter factor/hepatocyte growth factor in human astrocytomas.Scatter factor/hepatocyte growth factor (SF/HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has been implicated in glioma invasion and angiogenesis. The SF/HGF receptor, MET, has been found to be expressed in neoplastic astrocytes as well as in endothelial cells of the tumor vasculature. Both SF/HGF and MET expression have also been described to correlate with the malignancy grade of human gliomas. However, most glioblastoma cell lines lack SF/HGF expression, raising the question of the cellular origin of SF/HGF in vivo. Using in situ hybridization, we analyzed glioblastomas, anaplastic astrocytomas, diffuse astrocytomas, pilocytic astrocytomas, and normal brain for the expression of SF/HGF mRNA. We detected strong SF/HGF expression by the majority of the tumor cells and by vascular endothelial cells in all glioblastoma specimens analyzed. Combined use of in situ hybridization with fluorescence immunohistochemistry confirmed the astrocytic origin of the SF/HGF-expressiong cells. In contrast, CD68-immunoreactive microglia/macrophages, as well as vascular smooth muscle cells reactive to alpha-smooth muscle actin, lacked SF/HGF expression. In anaplastic, diffuse, and pilocytic astrocytomas, SF/HGF expression was confined to a subset of tumor cells, and signals were less intense than in glioblastomas. In addition, we detected SF/HGF mRNA in cortical neurons. SF/HGF expression was not up regulated around necroses or at tumor margins. MET immunoreactivity was observed in GFAP-expressing astrocytic tumor cells and endothelial cells as well as in a subset of microglia/macrophages. We conclude that in vivo, both autocrine and paracrine stimulation of tumor cells and endothelium through the SF/HGF-MET system are likely to contribute to tumor invasion and angiogenesis. Lack of SF/HGF expression by most cultured glioblastoma cells is not representative of the in vivo situation and most likely represents a culture artifact.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0019866105010945keywords = muscle (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/53. Collision of a syncytial meningioma and malignant astrocytoma.The coexistence of two or more primary brain tumors is a relatively rare occurrence. We report an 87-year-old woman with a 5-cm cystic-solid, peripherally enhancing, right frontal lobe mass. The woman presented with progressive hemiparesis, difficulty ambulating, and urinary incontinence. Histologic examination of the surgically excised lesion showed geographically distinct areas of syncytial meningioma (world health organization grade I) and malignant astrocytoma (world health organization grade III). Focally, infiltration of the meningioma by astrocytoma was observed. Differential diagnostic issues are considered and the literature reviewed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/53. Is stereotactic biopsy a reliable method to differentiate tumor from radiation necrosis?We report a case of a 37-year-old female who suffered from seizures and underwent external beam radiotherapy due to a suspected low-grade astrocytoma in the left hemisphere. After 7 years free of seizures under antiepileptic treatment and no signs of change in the yearly performed control MRI, she developed a progressive right-sided hemiparesis. MRI now showed an enhancing lesion with space occupying perifocal edema in the entire left hemisphere. Stereotactic biopsy revealed only inflammation. Due to further progress of the neurological deficit an open biopsy was performed. Histological examination revealed a middle-graded astrocytoma and a radiation necrosis. This case demonstrates that radiation necrosis and tumor recurrence may develop concurrently and that it may be difficult to distinguish them by clinical or radiological methods.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/53. Atypical pleomorphic astrocytoma in the pineal gland: case report.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: We report a rare case of pleomorphic astrocytoma in the pineal region that took a benign course despite pleomorphism. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 30-year-old woman suddenly developed right hemiparesis followed by loss of consciousness. A computed tomographic scan revealed a mass in the pineal region accompanied by obstructive hydrocephalus. Her symptoms improved after ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery. INTERVENTION: The tumor was totally removed in an en bloc fashion using the occipital interhemispheric transtentorial route. light microscopy revealed that the tumor had marked pleomorphism and multinucleated, bizarre giant cells, but neither mitosis nor necrosis was seen. Glial fibrillary acid protein was immunohistochemically positive in a few tumor cells. Retinal soluble antigen was negative. No reticulin network between the tumor cells was observed. A histological diagnosis of atypical pleomorphic astrocytoma was made. CONCLUSION: No signs of recurrence have been observed for 7 years after surgery without adjuvant therapy. Histologically, the tumor resembled pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma or pleomorphic granular cell astrocytoma, but the immunohistochemical findings were not completely compatible with either diagnosis. This benign astrocytoma in the pineal gland with unique features is the first such case reported.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = hemiparesis, paresis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |