Assessing endocranial variations in great apes and humans using 3D data from virtual endocasts.

Modern humans are characterized by their large, complex, and specialized brain. Human brain evolution can be addressed through direct evidence provided by fossil hominid endocasts (i.e.

[Chemonucleolysis of disk herniation with low back pain as the single symptom: 20 cases].

Disk herniation can manifest as isolated low back pain, which is usually intermittent and accompanied with stiffness of the lumbar spine. There is almost general agreement that neither neurosurgical treatment nor chemonucleolysis is appropriate in patients with this clinical pattern. We used chemonucleolysis in 19 patients with recurrent episodes of isolated low back pain and one patient with severe permanent isolated low back pain dating back to a conservatively-treated episode of sciatica.

[Recurrent intracranial hematomas disclosing Rendu-Osler disease in a pregnant woman].

The authors report on the case of a young woman, seven months gone, with an history of sudden onset of successive lobar intracerebral hematomas. They revealed a Rendu-Osler-Weber disease. The mechanism is discussed.

[Supratentorial hemangioblastoma].

The authors report the case of an isolated supratentorial hemangioblastoma occurring in a woman operated on for a cerebellar hemangioblastoma twenty years before. The data furnished by immunohistochemical technics don't seem to be deciding and don't work out the problem of hemangioblastoma histogenesis.

[Myelo-radicular involvement in a lumbar foramen disk hernia].

The authors report a case of L4-L5 foraminal disc herniation revealed by symptoms of bi-radicular and medullary lesions. Anatomical study allows to understand such association of symptoms.

[Neurinoma of the oculomotor nerve. Apropos of a case].

A case of a surgically verified neurinoma of the oculomotor nerve is presented. The diagnostic difficulties due to the parasellar localisation are discussed. Computed tomography scan data rarely allow to distinguish the nature of the tumor and in all cases are insufficient to distinguish a trigeminal nerve neurinoma of the oculomotor nerves.

[Intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus caused by spinal cord tumors. Apropos of 3 cases].

Three cases of spinal cord tumor, revealed by hydrocephalus, are reported. Two patients showed symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and the third one presented himself with ataxic gait without intellectual impairment nor incontinence. In two cases ventriculo atrial shunt was initially inserted and the correct diagnosis was made only later on myelogram because lombosciatalgia or syndrome of the cauda equina.

[Deglutition disorders caused by an injury to the foramen lacerum posterior].

Dysphagia due to a traumatic lesion of the foramen lacerum posterior is relatively rare. Two cases are described in which swallowing troubles were perceived when the post-traumatic coma improved; these were ascribed to a traumatic lesion of the foramen lacerum posterior injuring the cranial nerves. Treatment involves preventing inhalation and nasogastric feeding whilst starting active and early rehabilitation of swallowing.

[Hypotension induced by isoflurane for the treatment of intracranial aneurysm in late pregnancy].

A 31-year old primigravida was admitted at 31 week gestation for subarachnoid haemorrhage. Cerebral angiography revealed an aneurysm on the left middle cerebral artery. Eleven days later, the aneurysm was clipped off.

[Spontaneous rupture of intracranial dermoid cyst. Clinical and radiological study].

A 22 year old woman had a seizure, and the skull X-ray showed an intracranial arched calcification. CT scan permitted diagnosis of dermoid cyst. Rupture of the cyst was testified by low density areas disseminated on the cortical surface and intra-ventricular fat level.

[Low-concentration enflurane:study of anesthetic stability and quality of recovery].

The stability of anaesthesia and the quality of recovery obtained with low doses of enflurane were studied. Two groups of 20 patients operated for lumbar slipped disc were compared. The mean age and weight distribution of the two groups were not statistically different.

[Infection of the valves of CSF shunts. Results of local and general antibiotic treatment in 6 cases].

Infection of six cerebro-spinal fluid shunts in six patients were treated with daily intrashunt injections of antibiotics plus combination of intravenous or oral systemic antibiotic therapy. Three organisms were involved in the shunt infection: staphylococcus epidermidis in five, staphylococcus capitis and micrococcus varians. One patient had mixed shunt infection with micrococcus varians and staphylococcus épidermidis.

[Peripheral neuropathy during treatment with ornidazole].

The case is reported of an 18 year old patient who developed a peripheral neuropathy after being given 1.5 g ornidazole daily for 6 days and 2 g daily for 16 days (total dose: 41 g). Bilateral radial paralysis was noted clinically, whilst electrical investigations showed diffuse motor and sensitive anomalies.

[Sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate. Effects on visual flash-evoked potentials].

Na gamma hydroxybutyrate being recognized as a mean of brain protection, the effect of Na gamma hydroxybutyrate on visual evoked potentials is studied in ten neurosurgical patients. Recordings are made in the same intensive care unit and with the same equipment. Latencies of the three principal peaks (III, IV, V) are analysed.