Journal of neuro-oncology
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Journal of neuro-oncology · Aug 2005
Case ReportsSylvian meningioma without dural attachment in an adult.
This paper presents a rare case of a sylvian meningioma in a 35-year-old male. The patient visited our hospital because of a 10-year history of simple partial seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 3.5-cm, well-circumscribed, homogenously enhanced, circular mass without dural attachments in the left insular region. ⋯ The tumor was excised, and a histological diagnosis of a transitional meningioma without a malignancy was made. A Sylvian meningioma without dural attachment is quite rare, and a preoperative differentiation of this lesion is generally difficult. This paper discusses the characteristics and possible pathogenesis of meningiomas without a dural detachment.
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Journal of neuro-oncology · Jun 2005
Comparative StudyFrame-based stereotactic biopsy remains an important diagnostic tool with distinct advantages over frameless stereotactic biopsy.
As the availability of image-guided surgical navigation systems has increased, the application of frame-based biopsy has declined at our institution, despite equivalent accuracy and safety. There are several cost issues separating the use of surgical navigation systems and stereotactic frames for simple biopsy which may have implications in this era of health care cost control. We retrospectively reviewed the UCSF experience with stereotactic brain biopsy from a 9 year period. ⋯ Frame-based and frameless stereotactic biopsy approaches were equally effective at providing a tissue diagnosis with minimum morbidity and mortality. The frame-based approach, however, required significantly less anesthesia resources, less operating room time and shorter hospital stays, and thus should still be considered a first-line approach for stereotactic brain biopsy.
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Journal of neuro-oncology · May 2005
Neuropsychological performance and quality of life of 10 year survivors of childhood medulloblastoma.
Survivors of medulloblastoma, the most frequently occurring malignant brain tumor of childhood, suffer neuropsychological damage in the first decade after diagnosis. Cognitive performance, psychosocial functioning and quality of life were assessed in medulloblastoma survivors in the second decade after diagnosis. ⋯ Survivors of childhood medulloblastoma frequently suffer severe persistent deficits in a wide-range of neuropsychological functional domains. Nevertheless, survivors and their families do not report impaired quality of life. These severe neuropsychological and psychosocial deficiencies justify further attempts to reduce or delay the use of craniospinal radiation therapy for childhood medulloblastoma.
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Journal of neuro-oncology · Apr 2005
Case ReportsFocal paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis presenting as orgasmic epilepsy.
To report orgasmic epilepsy as a manifestation of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis in a patient with small cell lung cancer. ⋯ Orgasmic epilepsy is another mode of presentation of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis leading to the diagnosis of an occult SCLC. EEG and MRI findings suggest that in this case the seizures originated from the left hemisphere. It is possible that early recognition and treatment of the SCLC will improve the prognosis of this neurologic entity.