Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Of 488 children with central nervous system neoplasms, 43 (8.8%) had glioblastomas, 22 of which were in the cerebral hemispheres, 16 in the brain stem, two in the cerebellum, and three in the spinal cord. The male to female ratio was 3:2. Glioblastoma multiforme of the cerebral hemispheres occurred at a mean age of 12.7 years, and the frontal lobe was the most commonly involved. Main presenting symptoms included headache (85%), nausea or vomiting (65%), and seizures (35%). Papilledema (45%) was the most common physical finding. The longest survivals were achieved by a combination of operation and radiation (22 months). Brain stem glioblastomas occurred at a mean age of 6.7 years, with the pons as the most frequent site. Nausea or vomiting (50%) and headache (36%) were the main presenting symptoms; the major physical findings were ataxia (43%), cranial nerve palsies (28%), and paresis (28%). The length of survival was greatest with radiation alone (10.5 months). The period of survival of children with glioblastoma multiforme was significantly increased with steroid therapy. Glioblastoma multiforme behaves similarly in children and adults. Intracranial glioblastomas have a more rapidly fatal course than that of other similarly situated gliomas in childhood.
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PMID:Glioblastoma multiforme in children. 17 31

In an attempt to improve local control and survival over those achieved with brain implant alone, a Phase I/II study of interstitial thermoradiotherapy was undertaken for recurrent malignant gliomas and recurrent solitary brain metastases. Between June 1987 and September 1990, 49 tumors in 48 patients were treated with thermoradiotherapy, including 26 glioblastoma multiforme (GM), 16 anaplastic astrocytomas (AA), 4 adenocarcinomas, and 3 melanomas. Patient age ranged from 18 to 71 years and Karnofsky Performance Status from 40 to 90. Stereotactically implanted catheters were used for both hyperthermia and brachytherapy. Hyperthermia was administered immediately before and after brachytherapy, heating as much of the tumor as possible to 42.5 degrees C for 30 min using helical coil microwave antennas. High-activity iodine-125 sources delivered tumor doses of 32.6 to 63.3 Gy. Complications included reversible neurologic changes in 13 patients, 9 seizures, 4 infections, 1 deep venous thrombosis with pulmonary embolus, and 1 scalp burn. Eighteen patients underwent reoperation for tumor and/or necrosis. Follow-up ranged from 9 to 166+ weeks. The median follow-up for living patients with GM and AA was 37 weeks and 92 weeks, respectively. Actuarial median survival was 47 weeks for patients with GM. For patients with AA, actuarial survival was 65% at 18 months and median survival has not yet been reached. Multivariate analysis showed a strong correlation between freedom from local tumor progression and "T90" temperature or minimum tumor temperature. Interstitial brain thermoradiotherapy is now being evaluated in a randomized Phase II trial for previously untreated GM.
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PMID:Thermoradiotherapy of recurrent malignant brain tumors. 131 81

Five patients with documented recurrences of glioblastoma multiforme were given continuous infusions of methotrexate delivered intratumorally using implantable catheters and subcutaneous refillable pumps. A continuous infusion of methotrexate (1 mg/d) was begun with concomitant oral administration of folinic acid. The methotrexate dose was increased every 2 weeks to 3, 10, 30, and, ultimately, 75 mg/d in two patients. Samples of serum and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were obtained to determine the levels of methotrexate and total bioactive folates, and brain tissue was obtained from two patients for determination of methotrexate concentration. The patients survived from 7 to 49 weeks after the implantation of the infusion device. Neither the clinical examination nor sequential radiological studies gave clear evidence of reduction in tumor size. Pneumonia developed in one patient, and mild hepatitis and increased seizure frequency in another. Methotrexate was stable in the delivery system over 12 days, and ventricular CSF reached steady-state levels by 5 days. Steady-state ventricular CSF levels of methotrexate were higher than serum levels in some patients, while the reverse was true in others. Levels of total bioactive folates in the CSF did not increase above the normal range. Methotrexate concentrations were highest at the center of the tumor, but measurable amounts of methotrexate were detectable in all areas of the brain. At autopsy in four patients, variable liquefactive necrosis of the brain tumors was seen, and viable tumor was found at the periphery of the tumor bed. These preliminary results suggest that it is technically feasible to infuse methotrexate into brain tumor cavities, and show that little central nervous system or systemic toxicity was encountered in five patients. Better delineation of the safety and efficacy of this therapeutic approach will require further clinical trials.
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PMID:Continuous intratumoral infusion of methotrexate for recurrent glioblastoma: a pilot study. 165 12

We report 25 verified cases of well-differentiated cerebral astrocytomas in adults treated between 1978 and 1988. All patients were diagnosed by computed tomographic (CT) scans, with 5 undergoing a craniotomy for debulking and 20 undergoing a biopsy alone. The median survival for the entire group was 8.2 years, the longest survival yet reported for a series of patients with these tumors. A review of the literature suggests that the longer survival observed in more recent series is the result of the earlier diagnosis of tumors afforded by modern brain imaging. Twenty of our patients presented with seizures in the absence of any other focal findings and would probably not have had a biopsy in the era before CT scans until their tumors had progressed. Only 8% of our patients had papilledema at the time of presentation, in contrast to almost half of the patients with low-grade astrocytomas reported before 1975, supporting the hypothesis that patients in the CT era are diagnosed earlier. None of our patients died from progressive low-grade disease. One patient died from a squamous cell cancer, and 7 died as a consequence of their tumors dedifferentiating into a more malignant astrocytoma or glioblastoma multiforme, with a median time of approximately 5 years after the diagnosis. Our findings, together with the available data in the literature, suggest that death from a focal low-grade astrocytoma, in the absence of malignant degeneration, may be a rare event. Consequently, future therapeutic efforts should be targeted at preventing dedifferentiation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Survival of patients with well-differentiated astrocytomas diagnosed in the era of computed tomography. 185 71

Cocaine abuse is associated with a constellation of serious medical complications. An unrecognized and recently described complication of cocaine use is rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure. We describe the first patient identified in our institution with this entity, admitted to the medical services with oliguric acute renal failure. Three days prior to admission the patient had a cocaine snorting binge. He presented with bilateral flank pain, gross hematuria, vomiting and chills. No history of crush injury, prolonged immobilization and or seizures was reported. On admission the vital signs were normal, physical exam revealed periorbital edema and marked soft tissue neck swelling. Lab values: Bun 120 mgs%, Creat. 10.7 mgs%, Na 132 meq/lt, Co2 13mq/lt, Cl, 103meq/lt, Co2 13meq/lt, Ca 5.3 mgs%, CPK 30,800 U/L with a MM fraction of 98%, LDH 600 U/L, SGOT 300 U/L. The urine was dark red with a ph of 6.5 and 100 rbc/hpf. The anti-GBM antibody and blood cultures were negative. An abdominal sonogram was normal. He received peritoneal dialysis and was discharged on his 14th hospital day with a CPK of 2,800 U/L and decreasing azotemia. Cocaine associated rhabdomyolysis has only been recently described in the literature (AJM April, 88). Acute myoglobinuric renal failure needs to be added to the growing list of medical complications of cocaine use.
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PMID:Cocaine and rhabdomyolysis: report of a case and review of the literature. 207 48

A patient with glioblastoma multiforme developed hyponatremia. This was accompanied by decreased mental awareness and seizures following cis-dichlorodiammine platinum II (DDP) chemotherapy. Treatment with hypertonic saline, furosemide diuresis, and fluid restriction promptly restored the serum sodium and neurologic status to normal. Hyponatremia did not recur despite subsequent tumor progression and increased intracranial pressure. The clinical picture suggested a drug-induced syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. Hyponatremia should be considered when seizures or mental changes occur in patients treated with DDP.
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PMID:Cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum II-induced syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. 282 77

We analyzed the prognostic significance of tumor histology, location, treatment, and selected clinical features at presentation in 91 consecutive patients with malignant gliomas diagnosed by stereotactic biopsy. In 64 patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) the following factors were associated with longer survival: lobar tumor location, adequate radiation therapy (RT) tumor dose 5,000-6,000 cGy, Karnofsky performance rating (KPR) at presentation greater than or equal to 70, and a normal level of consciousness before biopsy. In 27 patients with anaplastic astrocytoma, factors associated with longer survival were lobar tumor location, adequate RT, age less than 40 years at presentation, and a history of seizures. Delayed cytoreductive surgery in lobar GBM extended median survival but did not improve long-term survival. For patients with deep or midline malignant gliomas and for selected patients with lobar tumors, stereotactic biopsy followed by RT may be the most reasonable initial treatment strategy.
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PMID:Factors determining survival of patients with malignant gliomas diagnosed by stereotactic biopsy. 283 32

We review 160 cases of gliomatosis cerebri from the literature and report an additional three infants and young children who presented with intractable epilepsy, corticospinal tract deficits, and developmental delay in whom a pathologic diagnosis was made. The progressive nature of the encephalopathy in our cases was documented by serial clinical examination, electroencephalograms, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomographic scans. The natural history of gliomatosis cerebri was determined by a retrospective review of the literature of 160 cases in 85 reports. The most common neurologic symptoms and signs included corticospinal tract deficits (58%), dementia/mental retardation (44%), headache (39%), seizures (38%), cranioneuropathies (37%), increased intracranial pressure (34%), and spinocerebellar deficits (33%). The most commonly involved central nervous system structures were the centrum semiovale and cerebrum (76%), mesencephalon (52%), pons (52%), thalamus (43%), basal ganglia (34%), and the cerebellum (29%). Fifty-two percent of patients were dead within 12 months of onset. Different grades of glial neoplasm may also coexist within gliomatosis cerebri such as astrocytoma with anaplastic astrocytoma, atypical or anaplastic oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma multiforme. Hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of gliomatosis cerebri include blastomatous dysgenesis, diffuse infiltration, multicentric origin, in situ proliferation, and "field transformation." The biologic determinants of whether a transformed glial cell behaves as a relatively localized tumor mass or truly loses anchorage dependence to become migratory as well as proliferative are not understood.
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PMID:Gliomatosis cerebri presenting as intractable epilepsy during early childhood. 753 65

We report a 78-year-old woman who had an onset of convulsion and right hemiparesis at the age 77. She had been well until October 28th of 1990 when she suddenly developed a seizure starting in her right face with secondary generalization. She was admitted to Saitama Kyodo Hospital where neurologic examination revealed confusion with slight right hemiparesis; deep reflexes were exaggerated on the right side; otherwise neurologic examination was unremarkable. Cranial CT scan revealed an iso-density mass in the left motor area with extensive edema extending into left anterior frontal as well as parietal regions; by contrast enhancement, a homogeneous enhancement of the tumor was noted. She was treated with glycerol and phenytoin, and she became alert two days after her admission. The diagnosis of metastatic brain tumor was entertained; extensive malignancy survey was performed, however, no primary tumor was found. As neurosurgical procedure was refused, she was discharged on December 16th of 1990. She noted worsening of her right hemiparesis in the end of February, 1991, and she was admitted again on March 18th of 1991. On neurologic examination, she was disoriented to time and place; she was apparently demented. Her right hemiparesis was more advanced and she was unable to walk. Her hospital course was complicated by disturbance of consciousness and pneumonia, and she died on August 22nd of 1991. The patient was discussed in a neurological CPC. Opinions were divided between meningioma and a metastatic brain tumor. Other possibilities raised included malignant lymphoma and glioblastoma multiforme. As edema was very extensive on CT, many participants thought that it might be a metastatic brain tumor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[A 78-year-old woman who had an onset of seizure and right hemiparesis at the age 77]. 757 36

The authors present their experience with six children who developed anaplastic astrocytomas after receiving treatment for low-grade astrocytomas. Five children were from a series of 55 children with optic chiasmatic-hypothalamic gliomas who have been studied since 1976. The sixth child initially had a low-grade astrocytoma of the thalamus. The mean age of the children at initial presentation was 5.3 years. Five children were treated with surgery and radiation therapy; one child with a chiasmatic-hypothalamic glioma received radiation therapy alone. The amount of external radiation therapy used in all children was 50-52.5 Gy delivered in standard fractionations over approximately 6 weeks to include the volume of the original tumor plus a margin of 2 cm. The time to anaplastic transformation varied between 2 and 10 years (mean, 6.4 years). At tumor recurrence, the children had seizures or symptoms and signs of raised intracranial pressure. The location of the second tumor in all patients was either at the primary site or within the field of radiation therapy. Five of the six children underwent a second craniotomy and subtotal resection of their malignant gliomas. One child had positive cerebrospinal fluid cytology and multiple intraspinal metastatic tumor nodules detected by magnetic resonance imaging. On histopathological examination, four children had anaplastic astrocytoma, and two had glioblastoma multiforme. Four of the six children have died of their anaplastic astrocytomas (mean time from diagnosis of anaplastic astrocytoma to death, 10 months). Two children underwent chemotherapy and spinal irradiation for their anaplastic astrocytomas, and are currently alive and undergoing treatment. The possible mechanisms by which anaplastic tumors have developed in children treated previously for low-grade astrocytomas is discussed. The data suggest that radiation therapy may have played an integral role in the genesis of anaplastic astrocytomas in these children.
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PMID:Development of anaplastic changes in low-grade astrocytomas of childhood. 812 71


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