Epilepsy in primary cerebral tumors: the characteristics of epilepsy at the onset (results from the PERNO study--Project of Emilia Romagna Region on Neuro-Oncology).

Purpose: To present new information on the semiology and short-term evolution of seizures associated with primary brain tumors (PBTs) in a prospective study.

Methods: This study is a section of the PERNO study--Project of Emilia Romagna Region on Neuro-Oncology, the main aim of which is to collect prospectively all cases of PBTs occurring in the Emilia-Romagna region, northeast Italy (3,983,346 population) from January 2009 to December 2011, to allow epidemiologic, clinical, and biomolecular studies. The epilepsy section of the PERNO study included all the patients who experienced seizures, either as first symptom of the tumor or appearing during the course of the disease.

Chromosome 1p and 19q evaluation in low-grade oligodendrogliomas: a descriptive study.

Oligodendrogliomas are rare primary brain tumors with variable patient outcomes which are not always adequately accounted for by clinical or pathological variables. The present study evaluated the prognostic implications of chromosome 1p and 19q status in a set of 23 low grade oligodendrogliomas (OGD II), and correlated the results with patient outcome. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, the most widely used standard procedures, were used.

Follicular lymphoma of the dura associated with meningioma: a case report and review of the literature.

A 70-year-old immunocompetent woman who had been radiologically diagnosed with a left parasagittal meningioma 5 years previously developed a palpable subgaleal mass and underwent neurosurgery. Histologically the tumor was composed of thickened fibrotic dural tissue, infiltrated by a follicular lymphoma, of grade IIIB. A coexistent transitional meningioma had been infiltrated by the neoplastic lymphoid tissue.

Gliosarcoma with features of osteoblastic osteosarcoma: a review.

Context: Gliosarcoma is a rare tumor of the central nervous system characterized by a biphasic histologic pattern, consisting of a gliomatous and a sarcomatous component, respectively. In most instances the sarcomatous component is represented by a fibrosarcoma, but other stromal malignancies have also been described. Osteosarcomatous differentiation in gliosarcoma has been rarely reported.

Traumatic encephalocele related to orbital roof fractures: report of six cases and literature review.

Background: Orbital roof fractures after blunt injury are rare. Traumatic encephaloceles in the orbital cavity are even rarer, with only 15 cases published to date.

Methods: The clinical, radiological, and surgical findings of 6 cases of traumatic encephalocele treated at our institution from June 1998 to January 2000 are presented.