Calcifying pseudoneoplasms of the skull base presenting with cranial neuropathies: case report and literature review.

Objectives We report our institutional experience with calcifying pseudoneoplasms of the skull base that presented with cranial neuropathies. These lesions are also known as fibro-osseous lesions, cerebral calculi, or brain stones. Results One patient presented with facial numbness and retro-orbital pain secondary to compression of the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve at the anterior portion of the infratemporal fossa.

Plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in the diagnosis of neuroblastoma.

An atypical case of neuroblastoma is described, in which the diagnosis was facilitated by the application of a new biochemical procedure, the assay of plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity. This laboratory tool is proposed as a useful adjunct to established techniques in the diagnosis of neural crest tumors.