Benign cerebral aqueductal stenosis in an adult.

We present a patient with partial stenosis of aqueduct of Sylvius which was an incidental finding without any clinical symptoms. That in our opinion means that the ventricular brain system has many reserves that are being activated before symptoms appear.

What is the appropriate shunt system for normal pressure hydrocephalus?

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) represents a common disorder among older people with mild elevation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure and certain clinical manifestations. We present a patient with such a disorder in whom a programmable valve was implanted. With the use of a lower opening pressure, the patient developed a subdural hematoma although the symptoms subsided.

Thymidine phosphorylase to dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase ratio as a predictive factor of response to preoperative chemoradiation with capecitabine in patients with advanced rectal cancer.

Purpose: To identify if thymidine phosphorylase (TP), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), and ratio TP/DPD levels in tumor tissues are potential predictive factors for response to combined preoperative chemoradiation with capecitabine, in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Methods And Patients: Between 2004 and 2006, 28 patients with LARC (cT2-T4, N0-N2) were treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Total radiation dose was 50.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis presenting as bilateral sensorineural deafness and unilateral facial palsy.

This paper describes the case of a 56-year-old man with a history of small cell lung cancer under chemotherapy, who presented with left-sided peripheral facial palsy and progressive bilateral sensorineural deafness due to leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC). Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the petrosal bones and posterior cranial fossa revealed 2 solid lesions in the internal acoustic meatuses bilaterally and LMC of the skull base. Whole brain radiation therapy and methotrexate intrathecally were applied to the patient.

Hypoplasia of multiple cerebral arteries: report of an unusual case.

We present a rare case of hypoplasia of the vertebral arteries bilaterally, of the basilar artery, of the posterior cerebral arteries bilaterally, and right-sided aplasia of A1 branch of anterior cerebral artery. The patient became symptomatic with sudden-onset headaches, likely caused by high hemodynamic stress. The origin of the hypoplastic cerebral arteries is uncertain, but the concomitant existence of them supports the congenital origin.