Hemangiopericytoma of the cerebellopontine angle: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Intracranial hemangiopericytoma represents a rare intracranial tumor that is typically difficult to distinguish from meningioma based on clinical presentation and radiographic findings. These inherently aggressive neoplasms have been observed to occur in numerous intracranial compartments; however, isolated involvement of the CPA is essentially unreported. The authors present a case of a young lady with presumed right acoustic schwannoma, which proved to be HPC on histopathology.

The extended direct endonasal transsphenoidal approach for nonadenomatous suprasellar tumors.

Object: The extended transsphenoidal approach, which requires a bone and dural opening through the tuberculum sellae and posterior planum sphenoidale, is increasingly used for the treatment of nonadenomatous suprasellar tumors. The authors present their experiences in using the direct endonasal approach in patients with nonadenomatous suprasellar tumors.

Methods: Surgery was performed with the aid of an operating microscope and angled endoscopes were used to assess the completeness of resection.

Endonasal transsphenoidal transclival removal of prepontine epidermoid tumors: technical note.

Objective: Prepontine retroclival tumors have typically been removed through a variety of anterolateral, lateral, and posterolateral cranial base approaches. Here, we describe an endonasal transclival cranial base approach for removal of prepontine epidermoid tumors.

Methods: Two men, 40 and 52 years old, each presented with a history of headaches and cranial nerve deficits.

Congenital implantation cholesteatomas of the occipitoparietotemporal junction.

Two cases of cranial cholesteatomas centered at the occipitoparietotemporal junction are presented, and 12 similar cases reported as diploic cholesteatomas involving the temporal bone are reviewed. Among the reported diploic cholesteatomas, 3 involved the occipitoparietotemporal junction and had the same clinical characteristics as the ones presented here. These 5 lesions did not produce expansion of the cranial tables, they had a predominantly intracranial growth, and their matrix was bonded to the dura, so that their complete excision was prevented.

Early and persistent impaired percent alpha variability on continuous electroencephalography monitoring as predictive of poor outcome after traumatic brain injury.

Object: Early prediction of outcomes in patients after they suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often nonspecific and based on initial imaging and clinical findings alone, without direct physiological testing. Improved outcome prediction is desirable for ethical, social, and financial reasons. The goal of this study was to determine the usefulness of continuous electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring in determining prognosis early after TBI, while the patient is in the intensive care unit.

Neurophysiological characterization of the anterolateral spinal cord neurons contributing to pain perception in man.

These studies have examined threshold, frequency, and refractory period characteristics of a neural population in the anterolateral quandrant (ALQ) of the spinal cord of man, stimulation of which produces pain. Subjects were 18 conscious humans undergoing percutaneous anterolateral cordotomy for relief of intractable pain. Pain could be produced by ALQ stimulation in all subjects.