Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage secondary to 5-ALA-induced thrombocytopaenia in a paediatric patient: case report and literature review.

Introduction: The primary objective of neurosurgical management of malignant gliomas is maximal safe resection of the tumour. One of the main obstacles in achieving this is the ability to accurately discriminate between tumour edges and the surrounding healthy brain tissue. The use of fluorescence-guided surgery utilising 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), first introduced more than 20 years ago, has become an invaluable adjunct in high-grade glioma surgery in adults.

Endoscopic biopsy during third ventriculostomy in paediatric pineal region tumours.

Objects: The goal of the study was to establish if endoscopic biopsy during third ventriculostomy contributes to morbidity in the management of paediatric pineal region tumours presenting with hydrocephalus.

Materials And Methods: This study was a retrospective descriptive study in patients less than 18 years of age who have presented with a pineal region tumour between 2000 and 2006. Data were obtained from case notes.

Patients with autosomal-recessive osteopetrosis presenting with hydrocephalus and hindbrain posterior fossa crowding.

Osteopetrosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal bone sclerosis. As a result, patients often require input regarding various neurological complications. Although autosomal-recessive osteopetrosis has been associated with hydrocephalus, it has not been linked to hindbrain abnormalities.

Thalamic tumors in children: a reappraisal.

Object: Two to five percent of pediatric brain tumors are located in the thalamus. The optimal management for these tumors remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether clinical and neuroimaging features could guide treatment, and to what extent these features, together with histological diagnosis and treatment modalities, influenced survival.

Surgical treatment of epilepsy in Sturge-Weber syndrome in children.

Object: The authors sought to analyze the success rate of surgery in the management of medically intractable epilepsy in children with Sturge-Weber syndrome and to determine whether the extent and timing of surgery affected seizure and developmental outcomes.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective review of 27 children who underwent surgery at their institution for medically resistant epilepsy, and they examined the outcomes with regard to epilepsy control and neuropsychological development. Seventeen children (63%) experienced onset of their epilepsy when they were younger than 1 year of age.

Treatment of suprasellar cysts and patient outcome.

Object: The authors sought to determine the natural history of and optimal treatment for suprasellar cysts (SSCs).

Methods: Three hundred forty-two patients harboring intracranial cysts presented to the authors' neurosurgery unit between January 1986 and August 2004. The patients' records were reviewed to assess symptomatology, results of imaging studies, and outcome according to mode of treatment.

Genetic considerations in nonsyndromic midline craniosynostoses: a study of twins and their families.

Object: The origins of both sagittal synostosis (scaphocephaly) and metopic synostosis (trigonocephaly) remain unclear. Genetic and environmental factors probably play a role. Twin and family data of patients with these conditions are presented.