No abstract available.

Osteoma is the most common benign tumor of the cranium, and the frontal sinus is its most frequent location in the cranium. A 39-year-old woman presented with left exophthalmos was found to have orbital and intracranial extension of a giant osteoma involving anterior cranial fossa. The etiology, presenting features, diagnosis and treatment of this tumor are reviewed.
Adult ; Cranial Fossa, Anterior* ; Diagnosis ; Exophthalmos ; Female ; Frontal Sinus ; Humans ; Orbit ; Osteoma* ; Skull

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Brain Edema* ; Brain* ; Meningioma* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

No abstract available.
Brain Edema* ; Brain* ; Microvessels* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

OBJECTIVE: The lateral extracavitary approach(LECA) to the thoracic spine is known as one of the procedure which allows direct vision of pathologic lesion, ventral decompression and dorsal fixation of the spine through the same incision. The authors present a usefulness of the LECA to the complicated unstable thoracic spine caused by trauma. METHODS: The authors performed LECA on six patients from January 1999 to June 2001. All patients were male and their age distribution was from 17 to 65 years. Perioperative neurological state, radiological image, and their changes during follow-up period were evaluated in all patients. RESULTS: After operation, neurological symptoms were improved and there were no significant post-operative complications. Among these trauma cases, three patients showed rapid recovery of their impending paraparesis. In two patients with paraplegia from severe fracture-dislocation, only one patient was minimally improved to motor grade 3. Spinal alignments were maintained in all. CONCLUSION: Lateral extracavitary approach is considered to be a alternative method for the treatment of traumatic thoracic vertebra with high grade instability. The major advantage of this approach is that circumferential decompression of the spine and rigid fixation can be obtained throurh the same incision.
Age Distribution ; Decompression ; Dislocations ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Paraparesis ; Paraplegia ; Spine*

A rare case of gliosarcoma with neurofibromatosis typeI is presented. The patient was a 33-year-old woman who had headache and vomiting for one week. Multiple neurofibromas over her whole body with many cafe-au-lait spots were present since childhood. At admission, she had no focal neurological deficit and ophthalmologic examination revealed bilateral Lisch nodules. Brain CT and MRI revealed a heterogeneously enhancing mass in the left fronto-parietal region with marked peritumoral edema and mass effect. The tumor was removed gross totally and a gliosarcoma was diagnosed histopathologically. Post operative course was uneventful with resolution of symptom, followed by radiotherapy with 60 Gy. A brief overview is given of this rare case together with the pertinent literature.
Adult ; Brain ; Cafe-au-Lait Spots ; Edema ; Female ; Gliosarcoma* ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 1* ; Radiotherapy ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing evidence that the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, eicosapentanoic acid(EPA), induces relaxation in vessels from various animal models as cardiovascular protective nutrients. In vivo study was undertaken to investigate the potential therapeutic application of EPA to resolve vasospasm. METHODS: The basilar artery was visualized using transclival exposure, and its diameter monitored using videomicroscopy. Rabbits were divided randomly into seven groups:1) normal rabbits basilar artery treated with topical application of 100nM/L EPA only;2) normal rabbits basilar artery treated with 20nM/L phorbol dibutyrate(PDB), then 20 nM/L PDB+100nM/L EPA;3) normal rabbits basilar artery treated with 80mM/L KCL, then 80mM/L KCL+100nM/L EPA;4) normal rabbits basilar artery treated with 20nM/L endothelin 1(ET-1) only;5) normal rabbits basilar artery treated with 20nM/L ET-1, then 20nM/L ET-1+100nM/L EPA;6) subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH) rabbits basilar artery treated with artificial CSF only;7) SAH rabbits basilar artery treated with 100nM/L EPA. RESULTS: In normal(non-SAH) rabbits, EPA:1) had no effect on basal tone;2) did not reverse KCL or PDB-induced constriction;and 3) substantially reversed ET-1-induced constriction. The diameter of normal rabbit basilar artery was 779.1+/-17.9nm(mean+/-standard error). After SAH, the mean diameter was 521.0+/-32.5nm. The addition of EPA reversed this SAH-induced constriction to 80.4% of baseline diameter. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EPA induces relaxation in cerebrovascular arteries constricted with ET-1, and that it prevents and partially reverses SAH-induced vasoconstriction.
Arteries ; Basilar Artery ; Constriction ; Eicosapentaenoic Acid* ; Endothelins ; Microscopy, Video ; Models, Animal ; Rabbits ; Relaxation* ; Spasm* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Vasoconstriction

Paraffin-embedded surgical specimens from 27 human astrocytic tumors(7 astrocytomas, 10 anaplastic astrocytomas and 10 glioblastomas) were analyzed immunohistochemically for the presence of p53 protein and proliferation markers of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA), Ki-67 and agyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs). Approximately 33% of total cases were p53-protein positive. The p53-protein positive nuclei were revealed in 5 cases(50%) of glioblastomas, 4 cases(40%) of anaplastic astocytomas. None of the astrocytomas including 2 pilocytic tumors was p53-protein positive. There were no differences between histological types and p53-protein expression(p=0.0593), however, the more malignant histological features appear to be reflected by a greater incidence of p53 accumulation. In comparative evaluation of p53-protein expression and proliferation indices of PCNA, Ki-67 and AgNORs statistical analysis revealed significant correlation between p53 protein expression and Ki-67 labeling indices only(p=0.0177). p53-protein positive astrocytic tumors showed higher Ki-67 labeling index(10.8+/-6.9%) compared to p53-protein negative tumors(5.3+/-4.3%). In conclusion the malignant histological feature of astrocytic tumors may be associated with p53-protein expression, and among proliferation indices Ki-67 labeling index is correlated with p53-protein expression.
Astrocytoma ; Glioblastoma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Nucleolus Organizer Region ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen

Meningiomas are thought to arise from the arachnoid cap or meningothelial cells. This frequent apposition to the dura mater probably accounts for the usual attachment of the neoplasm to this layer. We report a case of intraparenchymal meningioma without dural attachment in a 14-year-old girl. A survey of the literature reveals that the majority of cases of meningiomas without dural attachment occur either in children or below the tentorium, and most of them located in the ventricle, the cranial vault. Intraparenchymal meningioma without dural attachment, however, are extremely rare. The uncommon locations of meningiomas at sites distant from the duramater is believed to reflect the rare occurrence of arachnoid cap cells in the Virchow-Robin spaces along the cerebral vasculature or in the pial layers distant from the dura mater.
Adolescent ; Arachnoid ; Child ; Dura Mater ; Female* ; Humans ; Meningioma*