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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Craniopharyngiomas are rare brain tumors of the hypothalamo-pituitary region, developing from embryonic remnants of Rathke's pouch and sac. Their overall incidence is 0.13 per 100,000 person years. Most frequently, they are suprasellar, start growing in childhood and originate neurological and hormonal symptoms. We retrospectively studied patients treated in our institution for craniopharyngioma in the last 10 years, in order to evaluate their clinical, imaging and pathological characteristics. Of the 32 patients analysed, 18 were females and 14 males with ages ranging between 6 and 81 years (early onset group--EOG aged 5-14 years: 7 patients; middle age onset group--MAOG aged 15-49 years: 15 patients; late age onset group--LOG aged > or = 50 years: 10 patients). Visual impairment was the most frequent presenting clinical feature in EOG (71.4%) and MAOG (86.6%), while in the LOG personality and cognitive changes including memory loss predominated (60%). Headaches were very frequent in all groups (EOG 42.8%, MAOG 60%, LOG 40%). Meningitis and seizures were presenting features, each in one patient. Regarding endocrine symptoms and signs, growth failure was present in 57.2% of the EOG. Amenorrhea was present in 5 of 10 female patients of the MAOG. Preoperatively, TSH was deficient in 25%, ACTH in 15.6% and gonadotropin in 25% of the patients. There were no cases of diabetes insipidus. Preoperative CT and MR revealed a calcified mass in 12 (37.5%), a partially cystic mass in 20 (62.5%) and a lesion involving or extending into the third ventricle in 7 (21.9%) patients. Twenty seven (84.4%) patients were treated primarily by surgery. In 4 (12.5%) cases the tumour was considered inoperable and 1 (3.1%) patient refused surgery; all were in the LOG. Surgical approach was transsphenoidal in 2/27 (7.4%) (all of them in the LAOG) and by craniotomy in the others. The tumour removable was considered complete in 10 (37%--EOG 2/7, MAOG 6/15, LOG 2/5) and subtotal in 17 (62.9%) patients. Eight (29.6%) patients were reoperated for recurrent tumour. Postoperative radiotherapy was administered in 12 cases with residual tumor, and 3 inoperable tumors were treated primarily by conventional external radiotherapy. Pathological study revealed the adamantinomatous type in 25 (92.6%) and the papillary type in 2 (7.4%--all men in the MAOG) tumors. The average follow-up was longer in the EOG (82.6 +/- 40.7 months) than in MAOG (57.2 +/- 48.5 months) and in LOG (48 +/- 92 months). Four (12.5%) patients died, 1 during the follow-up period due to a radiation-induced astrocytoma and 3 in the postoperative period because of cerebral hemorrhage and hydrocephalus (1 in the EOG and 2 in the LOG). In summary, we found the clinical presentation to be different in the 3 age groups, with a large number of patients in the MAOG. In this group were the only examples of the papillary form. Better prognosis was associated with a total resection at initial surgery.
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PMID:[Craniopharyngiomas. Clinicopathological aspects in different age groups]. 1552 57

The authors present a case with a presumed neurologic cause of late onset esotropia. The first symptom was sudden occurrence of esotropia at the age of 3 3/4 years. An accommodative esotropia could be ruled out after the prescription of glasses. The squint angle showed significant variations at distance and near fixation. Eight months after the first examination intense headache appeared. The neuroophthalmologic examination and organic findings were inconspicuous, except for smooth pursuit which showed high latency of the abducting eye on both sides. MRI was performed and showed a 2-cm mass in the upper dorsal vermis diagnosed as pilocyte astrocytoma grade 1. After neurosurgery, the esotropia showed no tendency towards reduction. Four months later, a Faden operation was performed on the internal recti of both eyes, resulting in micro-esotropia. Immediately after eye muscle surgery only the Bagolini-test was positive. Currently, the patient is able to recognize the rings 1-7 in the Titmus-test and the Lang I test. Esotropia with greater esodeviation at distance is described in adults with lesions of the dorsal vermis of the cerebellum. We postulate that the esotropia in our case was probably the first symptom of a cerebellar tumor.
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PMID:Late onset esotropia as first symptom of a cerebellar tumor. 1567 35

Pilocytic astrocytoma is a histological subtype of astrocytoma classically located in the cerebellum of children and young adults. Cases occurring over the age of 30 years are rare and have not been classified in terms of their clinical features and management. Suitable cases were identified using diagnostic coding and by reviewing a neuropathology database. Casenotes and neuroradiology were reviewed retrospectively. Ten cases were identified over a 6 year period with an incidence of 0.49 cases per million population per year. Tumours were equally distributed between the supra- and infra-tentorial spaces. The most common symptom was headache occurring in 90%. No patient suffered seizures. Total macroscopic treatment remains the treatment of choice. Pilocytic astrocytoma of the adult is a rare tumour with a favourable prognosis.
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PMID:Pilocytic astrocytoma of the adult--clinical features, radiological features and management. 1579 94

A 12-year-old girl with neurofibromatosis type 1 presented with headache, visual acuity and visual field disturbance. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enhanced solid mass involving her right optic nerve and optic chiasm, and a cystic lesion in the pineal region that had resulted in obstructive hydrocephalus. An open biopsy of the right optic nerve tumour was performed, and it was histologically identified as a pilocytic astrocytoma. Local irradiation of 50 Gy to the optic pathway tumour was performed, and the tumour has remained stable for more than 29 months. On the contrary, the pineal cystic mass that was also histologically identified as a pilocytic astrocytoma showed marked enlargement within 5 months after a subtotal resection. Chemotherapy with cisplatin and vincristine was performed after a second surgery, and the pineal tumour has not re-grown in 18 months. To our knowledge, this is the first case report to describe synchronous optic and pineal pilocytic astrocytomas associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.
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PMID:Synchronous optic and pineal pilocytic astrocytomas in a paediatric patient with neurofibromatosis type 1. 1582 62

A 3-year-old boy presented with headaches, vomiting, lethargy and papilledema. Communicating hydrocephalus along with transependymal fluid absorption and meningeal contrast enhancement was identified on CT. The enhancement was initially thought to be the result of a partially treated meningitis (child was previously on oral antibiotics for a presumed mycoplasma pneumonia). A right ventricular-peritoneal shunt was placed. CSF studies procured during the procedure were all normal. In contrast, CSF from a lumbar puncture contained a high protein, and cytology was highly suspicious for malignancy. Spine MRI showed diffuse leptomeningeal enhancement and a 1.5-cm intramedullary lesion at T12-L1 associated with minimal edema. The lesion was subtotally resected (70%) and diagnosed as an astrocytoma (mostly Kernohan grade 2 but with areas of grade 3). Chemotherapy was administered and follow-up spine MRI at 2 months did not reveal any residual tumor, however, the leptomeningeal enhancement persisted. Sixteen months later, at the completion of the chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the spine MRI remained unchanged. Neurological examination has always been normal. This case illustrates how a spinal cord astrocytoma can metastasize via spinocranial dispersion and present early with hydrocephalus rather than myelopathy.
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PMID:Hydrocephalus as the initial presentation of a spinal cord astrocytoma associated with leptomeningeal spread. 1588 10

A 7-year-old boy presented with headache, visual disturbance, and psychomotor seizures persisting for 7 months. He had mild hemiparesis and homonymous hemianopia on the left. Neuroimaging showed bilateral temporal lobe masses with calcification and cysts. The right temporal mass was subtotally resected. The histological diagnosis was pilocytic astrocytoma with ependymal differentiation and a MIB-1 staining index of up to 8.0%. Postoperatively his hemiparesis and psychomotor seizures disappeared. Adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and vincristine was given followed by radiotherapy. Neuroimaging showed that the bilateral tumors had disappeared and showed no recurrence for 29 months after the diagnosis. Pilocytic astrocytoma usually presents as a solitary mass in the cerebellum or optic pathway with low proliferative activity, but should be included in the differential diagnosis of multifocal tumors arising in the bilateral temporal lobes. Ependymal differentiation with extremely high proliferative activity might be related to this unusual clinical presentation. Intensive treatment is recommended for patients with such specific neuroimaging and histological features.
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PMID:Multifocal pilocytic astrocytomas with ependymal differentiation in the bilateral medial temporal lobes: case report. 1612 60

The crush cytology of a pituicytoma is reported. The lesion was resected from a 54-yr-old man with a 7-mo history of headache. The intraoperative crush smears revealed plump spindle cells with elongated, nonwavy nuclei, and moderate, finely granular cytoplasm with distinct cytoplasmic borders. These cells were arranged in cohesive fascicles exhibiting a storiform pattern focally. Cytologically, this lesion can be differentiated from pituitary adenoma, astrocytoma, meningioma, and schwannoma.
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PMID:Crush cytology of pituicytoma. 1613 77

Brainstem epidermoid cysts are rare lesions, with only 18 reported cases in the literature and only five purely intrinsic epidermoid cysts within this group. The authors present the case of a 3-year-old girl with a history of chronic headaches, progressive diplopia, and relapsing and remitting mild right hemiparesis who was found to harbor an intrinsic brainstem epidermoid cyst at the pontomedullary junction. Initial working diagnoses included intrinsic brainstem astrocytoma and cavernoma. After tumor enlargement and progressive symptoms, a diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequence was performed and a definitive diagnosis of an intrinsic brainstem epidermoid cyst was made in the patient. The patient underwent a suboccipital craniotomy and complete resection of the cyst with the aid of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. Three years after the operation, the patient is neurologically intact and no evidence of tumor recurrence has been found. The rarity of brainstem epidermoid cysts can make their diagnosis difficult; thus a DW MR imaging sequence of the brain is a useful diagnostic modality. Intrinsic brainstem epidermoid cysts can be removed safely, in a manner similar to that used for the surgical treatment of focal tumors.
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PMID:Intrinsic brainstem epidermoid cyst. Case report and review of the literature. 1661 43

(1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) was performed on a patient with an admission diagnosis of recurrent astrocytoma. The patient had undergone surgical resection and radiation therapy for a left occipital astrocytoma WHO grade III 12 years previously, and presented with aphasia, right-sided hemiparesis, and severe headache. Postcontrast T1-weighted images showed cortical enhancement of the left parietotemporal lobe near the post-resection cavity. MRSI revealed a marked increase of trimethylamines (TMA), elevated creatine/creatinephosphate (tCr), and reduced N-acetyl-aspartate (tNAA) in the same brain region. The spectroscopic data were consistent with tumor recurrence. However, the pattern of contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), evidence of an epileptic focus on electroencephalography (EEG), and spontaneous regression of the symptoms argued against tumor recurrence. In a 4-week follow-up, the contrast enhancement disappeared on MRI and the EEG abnormalities and neurological symptoms resolved. Follow-up spectroscopic data showed a decrease in TMA compared to normal values. The tCr signal remained elevated but returned to normal values after 5 months. In conclusion, postictal neurological deficits with a temporary increase in TMA and tCr were diagnosed. This is the first report of seizure-induced MRS abnormalities mimicking tumor recurrence.
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PMID:Postictal spectroscopy and imaging findings mimicking brain tumor recurrence. 1673 21

An intraventricular glioma occupying all four ventricles of the brain in children is very uncommon. The authors report a unique case of a tetraventricular Grade II astrocytoma with evidence of extension into the basal cisterns in a 5-year-old boy who had a 1-month history of headache. There was no neurological deficit except bilateral papilledema.
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PMID:Holoventricular glioma in a child. Case report. 1733 May 40


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