Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Plets.
Different types of anomalies of the lumbosacral nerve roots were documented in the literature. The present report is the first description of a combination of conjoined and anastomosed nerve roots, at the same level and unilaterally, in the lumbar region.
Different types of anomalies of the lumbosacral nerve roots are documented in the literature. However, combinations of anomalies in one single person appear to occur very seldom. This report describes a unique combination of adjacent, conjoined and anastomosed lumbosacral nerve roots.
Retrospectively we assessed the value of routine postoperative CT scans in 113 children shunted for hydrocephalus. Of the 165 routine CT scans 13 showed fortuitous findings (= 8%) with a change in treatment accompanied by questionable benefits in only 2 (= 1.3%). Therefore we suggest that post-operative CT should not be performed as a routine examination but only on clinical grounds.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The authors report a case of tension pneumocephalus in association with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt for obstructive hydrocephalus, due to the presence of a pineal tumour. In this unique form of tension pneumocephalus, air from the middle ear must have penetrated into the brain parenchyma and later on into the ventricular system through pre-existing congenital defects in the bony tegmen tympani and the covering dura mater. The possible pathogenetic mechanisms of this kind of tension pneumocephalus are discussed.
A 2-year-old child is reported with an unusual large anterior fontanel. The boy sustained a head injury at the age of 10 months. Post traumatic skull X-rays showed a parietal bone fracture. At the age of 2 years a leptomeningeal cyst underlying the anterior fontanel was found on CT. A causal relation between the persistent anterior fontanel and the roentgenographic findings is discussed.
The authors report a 14-month-old infant with an intraparenchymal meningioma. At this age, intracranial tumor is an unusual cause of hemiconvulsions, and an intraparenchymal tumor localisation is even more unusual.
The authors present a series of 95 cerebellar tumours in the child. They discuss the relationship between the clinical syndrome and the histological nature on the one hand and the site of the tumour on the other hand. Favourable operative results, characterised by a very low mortality and by the absence of grave postoperative complications, are attributed to as complete an excision as possible of the tumour and preoperative normalisation of intracranial pressure by the installation of ventriculo-subcutaneous drainage.
A case of endocrinologically active glomus jugulare is presented. The localization within the tumor of the catecholamine hyperproduction was demonstrated by selective venous sampling from the vena jugularis externa draining the tumor. The norepinephrine/epinephrine ratio was high and of the same order in blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. Bioassay showed high levels of intratumoral norepinephrine and epinephrine. The ways of treatment and their influence on the catecholamines are briefly discussed. In every phaeochromocytoma-like syndrome both the existence of catecholamine hyperproduction and the anatomical site of this hypersecretion have to be precisely documented in order to define the correct treatment to be applied.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Thickening of the dura in continuity with a convexity meningioma was noted on T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images in seven patients. In five cases the corresponding CT image of the lesions was typical of meningioma. In two other cases the CT image of the lesions was atypical, owing to cyst formation in one and extensive edema in the other. After intravenous injection of paramagnetic contrast medium in four patients, the thickened dura demonstrated contrast enhancement at a variable distance from the tumor. In three patients the thickened dura was confirmed surgically. Pathology, available in one case, showed the thickened dura to correspond to tumoral extension within or around the dura. Magnetic resonance demonstration of thickening of the dura in continuity with a mass at the cerebral convexity may prove to be of importance in the differentiation of atypical lesions on CT and MR, especially with lower field magnets. Moreover, it could provide useful information to the neurosurgeon for more complete resection of the tumor.
Magnetic resonance was performed in five patients with obstructive hydrocephalus due to surgically proven colloid cyst of the third ventricle. On T1-weighted images two lesions were homogeneously hyperintense and another homogeneously isointense with the surrounding brain parenchyma. On T2-weighted images these three lesions were strongly hypointense except for a hyperintense rim at the periphery. At surgery in these patients the cyst was thin walled and filled with viscous colloidal material. In two patients the content of the lesion was composed of two layers. The outer layer was hyperintense and the inner layer hypointense in one patient. In the other patient the periphery of the lesion was isointense with central hypointensity. On T2-weighted images the content of both lesions was hyperintense at the periphery with central hypointensity. In these last two patients at surgery the cyst was thin walled too. However, two clearly different components could be found in the cyst content: an outer component composed of amorphous material and cellular debris and an inner component consisting of viscous material.
Fifty patients with newly diagnosed, untreated intracranial tumors were examined with 1H nuclear magnetic resonance single-volume spectroscopy (MRS) using a 1.5 T whole-body MR system. Prior to the MRS, contrast enhanced MR and/or CT imaging studies were carried out. Histological verification was obtained in all patients except one. All tumor spectra revealed distinct abnormalities as compared with the normal brain spectra. Although most meningiomas showed a rather characteristic spectral pattern, generally features specific for the various tumor types were not observed. For instance, though a strong lactic acid signal was seen in most malignant tumors, this signal was also evident in five benign neoplasms.