Arteries and Veins of the Sylvian Fissure and Insula: Microsurgical Anatomy.

We present a vascular anatomical study of the arteries and veins of the sylvian fissure and insula.A good knowledge of the sylvian fissure, the insula, and their vascular relationship would seem mandatory before performing surgery in this area, whatever the type of surgery (aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, insular tumors).We start with the sylvian fissure and insula morphology, followed by the MCA description and its perforators, with special attention paid to the insular perforators.

Sporadic intracranial haemangioblastomas: surgical outcome in a single institution series.

Background: Haemangioblastomas are benign vascular tumours that may appear sporadically or in von Hippel-Lindau disease. Despite their higher incidence, sporadic haemangioblastomas have been less studied than syndromic ones. In this article, we evaluate the specific features, outcome and quality of life of patients with intracranial sporadic haemangioblastomas (ISHs) operated on in our institution.

Markers of recurrence and long-term morbidity in craniopharyngioma: a systematic analysis of 171 patients.

Context: Craniopharyngiomas are often associated with an unfavorable prognosis, but data on their long-term consequences are sparse.

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify markers of recurrence and factors associated with compromised social rehabilitation and altered quality of life in a large cohort of patients with either childhood-onset (CO) or adult-onset craniopharyngioma.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed for 171 patients treated for craniopharyngioma in two academic centers in France between 1972 and 2009.

Surgical treatment of rare cauda equina tumours.

Background: Cauda equina tumours (CET) are rare and usually benign. Treatment of schwannomas and benign ependymomas, which are the most frequent histopathological types of CET, is now well established. However, management of other presumed histopathological types of CET is still a matter of debate.

Olfactory ensheathing cell tumour: case report and literature review.

Olfactory ensheathing cell tumour (OECT) and olfactory groove schwannoma (OGS) are among the rarest intracranial tumour types that develop within anterior cranial fossa. These tumours share several similarities, including radiological and histological aspects, and only immunohistochemical staining can differentiate between them. We report a case of OECT occurring in a 28-year-old woman with a history of complex partial seizures, emotional lability and anosmia.

SPECT and PET analysis of subthalamic stimulation in Parkinson's disease: analysis using a manual segmentation.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) has become an effective target of deep-brain stimulation (DBS) in severely disabled patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Clinical studies have reported DBS-induced adverse effects on cognitive functions, mood, emotion and behavior. STN DBS seems to interfere with the limbic functions of the basal ganglia, but the limbic effects of STN DBS are controversial.

Gowers intrasyringal hemorrhage. Case report and review of the literature.

The concept of hemorrhage in a preexisting syringomyelic cavity was first described by Gowers in 1904. Since its first description only 13 cases have been reported. The aims of this report are to describe a new case, bring this entity to wider attention, and summarize the existing literature on the subject.

Asymptomatic syringomyelia in the course of medulloblastoma.

Syringomyelia is frequently associated with Chiari malformation or one of many other pathological conditions. Its co-occurrence with medulloblastoma is rare, and to our knowledge, only 4 patients have been reported, although some reports have documented on syringomyelia associated with intracranial processes or intramedullary tumor. The authors describe an unusual case of asymptomatic thoracic syringomyelia complicated by an intrasyringal hemorrhage in a child with medulloblastoma.

Primary liposarcoma of the thoracic spine: case report.

Liposarcoma is a malignant tumor of soft tissue. The thoracic spine is an unusual location, even for metastasis, and to our knowledge, no case of primary pleomorphic liposarcoma of the vertebral body has been reported until now. A female patient presented with paraplegia.

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy in athetoid cerebral palsy patients: about five cases.

Unlabelled: We herein report five cases of cerebral palsy athetosic patients with spondyloid cervical myelopathy. Four of them underwent decompressive surgery. The level of cervicarthrosis differs from a control population with a more frequent osteoarthritis on the lower cervical spine.

Pathophysiology of capillary haemangioma growth after birth.

Capillary haemangiomas (CHs) are the most common soft tissue tumours of infancy. It is generally believed that the primary defect in CHs is intrinsic to endothelial cells, but their pathogenesis is yet poorly understood. The relatively low oxygen environment, in which the human foeto-placental unit develops, during the first trimester, is necessary to induce vasculo-angiogenesis via embryonic endothelial cells proliferation, since these cells are sensitive to hypoxia and acidosis.

Epidural hematoma as a complication of endoscopic biopsy and shunt placement in a patient harboring a third ventricle tumor.

Although some complications have been reported when using endoscopic techniques, epidural hematoma (EDH) has rarely been caused. The authors report a case of EDH complicating a concomitant endoscopic biopsy procedure with ventricular shunt placement in a young, 14-year-old boy harboring a third ventricle tumor with a hydrocephalus. Few cases have been reported; however, the authors warn that there is a risk that EDH may develop following an endoscopic procedure and shunt placement.

Capillary haemangioma arising from the anterior choroidal artery.

Background: Capillary haemangioma of the central nervous system is extremely rare. Histologically proven cases developed in the dura mater and choroid plexus, or were typically intracranial extensions of an extra-cranial lesion.

Features: This report details a case that developed in the anterior choroidal artery of a newborn infant and manifested as a lethal intra-cerebral haemorrhage.

Results in the operative treatment of elderly patients with spinal meningiomas.

Study Design: Thirty consecutive patients over 70 years of age who were operated on for spinal meningiomas are presented to assess surgical criteria and postoperative outcome.

Objectives: To assess the outcome of surgically treated spinal meningiomas in patients in their eighth or ninth decade of life and to analyze the possible role of some prognostic factors.

Summary Of Background Data: The ageing of the population in the industrial nations has led to increased findings of benign spinal tumors, namely meningiomas, in the elderly.

Caudal spinal cord ischemia after lumbar vertebral manipulation.

Neurological complications after lumbar spine manipulation are uncommon. The cause is usually a herniated disk or displaced bony structure. We report a case of paraplegia that developed a few hours after manipulation of the lumbar spine.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the infundibular-hypothalamic region: case report and literature review.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an uncommon vascular neoplasm. Its intracranial occurrence is rare, and the literature review revealed only 23 cases (14 adults and 9 children). To our knowledge, this is the first case of EHE arising in the infundibular-hypothalamic region.

Extensive spinal cord infarction after posterior fossa surgery in the sitting position: case report.

Objective And Importance: Spinal cord injury is a rare complication of neurosurgery performed with the patient in the sitting position. Previous reports showed that the level of injury is usually located at or near the C5 segmental spinal level, and the term midcervical quadriplegia has been proposed. Extensive spinal cord and lower brainstem infarction also can occur after posterior fossa surgery performed with the patient in the sitting position.

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome: relation with desmoplastic medulloblastoma in infancy. A population-based study and review of the literature.

Background: Patients with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) are believed to be predisposed to develop early-onset neoplasms including medulloblastomas (MB). The desmoplastic subtype of MB is associated most commonly with NBCCS. The goals of this study were to demonstrate the relation between desmoplastic MB and NBCCS and to evaluate the concomitant diagnosis of NBCCS and MB.

Acute cauda equina compression revealing Hodgkin's disease: a case report.

Study Design: This is a case report of a young patient who experienced an acute epidural compression of cauda equina revealing Stage IV Hodgkin's disease.

Objectives: To draw attention to this rare presentation of Hodgkin's disease, and to assess the role of surgery in acute cauda equina compression in a context of a chemosensitive disease.

Summary Of Background Data: Lymphomatous tissue in Hodgkin's disease may involve the spine usually in the setting of advanced disease.