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L Cervoni

Publications and source records attributed to L Cervoni.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Purely epithelioid schwannoma. Two case reports and a review of the literature.

The authors describe 2 cases of purely epithelioid schwannomas, one spinal the other peripheral. At surgery, the spinal schwannoma appeared as an orange-sized, solid, brown mass. Total removal of the tumor was performed. The peripheral schwannoma appeared as a fusiform, brown, movable mass in the sensitive branch of the left tibial nerve and was removed by a wide en bloc excision. Intraoperative nerve action potentials were performed both prior to and following excision of the lesion. Histologically, the tumors were composed of round or polygonal cells arranged in necrotic clusters and anastomosing cords. There were areas of spindle cells. The epithelioid cells were round to oval with abundant cytoplasm. Mitoses were frequent (3 out of 10 in high-power field). S100 protein immunoreactivity was present diffusely in tumor cells (both nuclear and cytoplasmic), whereas cytokeratin, NSE, and anti-melanoma reactions gave negative results. After a long follow-up, the neurological condition of the patients is excellent and there are no signs of either recurrence or metastasis. The therapeutic management of epithelioid schwannoma is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Cerebellar mutism after posterior cranial fossa surgery.

Mutism is a rare sequel of PCF tumor removal. Three patients aged 5 to 20 years old with mutism after posterior fossa surgery are presented. Suboccipital craniectomy was performed in all patients with grossly total removal of a medulloblastoma. The mutism that may occur after an operation for a PCF lesion has been explained in functional and/or organic terms. To date, 24 similar cases of mutism following cerebellar operations have been reported in the literature. We review the features of the syndrome in the light of the published cases and speculate on the underlying physiopathology. The absence of long tract or other brain stem signs, together with a presence of dysarthria during the recovery of speech, suggested a organic cerebellar cause of the mutism.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Stability of Japanese-lacquer-tree (Rhus vernicifera) laccase to thermal and chemical denaturation: comparison with ascorbate oxidase.

The thermal denaturation of laccase from the Japanese lacquer tree (Rhus vernicifera) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The endotherms of holo-laccase, type 2-Cu-depleted laccase and apo-laccase were deconvoluted into two independent two-state transitions, providing evidence for a domain structure of the protein. The correlation of the two transitions with the bleaching of copper optical bands and the decrease of the transitions' enthalpy on Cu removal show that the process involves the denaturation of Cu sites. No detectable unfolding of secondary structure was observed, since the thermal transitions, characterized by low overall specific enthalpy, did not modify either the laccase c.d. spectra in the beta-fold region or the maximum wavelength of the fluorescence emission. On chemical denaturation, however, the emission was red-shifted by about 20 nm. The laccase behaviour is substantially different from that of stellacyanin, a protein containing a single blue Cu ion, in which the thermal transition had higher specific enthalpy and induced a large change of the c.d. spectrum in the beta-fold region. The laccase denaturation behaviour is similar to that of ascorbate oxidase from zucchini (courgette; Cucurbita pepo) [Savini, D'Alessio, Giartosio, Morpurgo and Avigliano (1990) Eur. J. Biochem. 190, 491-495], suggesting a structural analogy. In both proteins heating may cause a change of tertiary structure through modifications of Cu co-ordination with loosening of the bonds between the structural domains at the interface of which the trinuclear Cu cluster is located.

Ascorbate Oxidase↗
PubMed1995

Medulloblastoma in pediatric age: a single-institution review of prognostic factors.

We report a retrospective study of 35 cases of medulloblastoma in pediatric patients treated at our institution during an 18-year period. Ten of the patients were infants (age < 2 years) and 25 were children (age > 2 years). The main factors affecting prognosis were total removal of the tumor (P < 0.01) and tumor stage (P < 0.01). There were no differences between the survival rate of infants and children, infants had a worse prognosis in regard to quality of life than children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Ependymoblastoma: a clinical review.

Ependymoblastoma is a malignant rarely reported neuroectodermal tumor. The authors describe a further case of cerebral ependymoblastoma and examine the clinical-prognostic aspects of this tumor in the light of the published data.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Intraosseous cavernous hemangioma of the skull.

Intraosseous cavernous hemangioma is a vascular tumor that only rarely affects the cranial bones. We describe three patients with this unusual tumor and discuss the clinical and radiological features of this lesion in the light of published data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Pediatric cystic meningioma: report of three cases.

Three cases of pediatric cystic meningioma are reported. In a review of the literature the authors stress the importance and difficulty of accurate preoperative diagnosis. Cystic meningioma in pediatric patients differs from that in adults in the following respects: higher incidence, predilection for males, shorter clinical history, less specific neuroradiological diagnosis, frequent absence of a dural attachment, prevalence of Nauta type II cystic meningioma, and high incidence of the fibroblastic histotype.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Turcot's syndrome: case report and review of the classification.

We report a case of association of a brain tumor with multiple colorectal polyposis and offer an analysis of the relevant literature with a view to revising the classification of the syndrome in relation to familial multiple polyposis and Gardner's syndrome. Differences emerged, depending on the brain tumor type, which suggests that this association may be classified as two distinct syndromes.

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli↗
PubMed1995

Single brain metastases from unknown primary malignancies in CT-era.

Cerebral metastases account for about half of all intracranial neoplasms. In 33%-66% they represent the first sign of a systemic tumor. We report our experience in 100 patients with solitary brain metastasis from unknown primary malignancies treated between 1976 and 1988. All patients were treated surgically and 81 also received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Postoperative mortality was 6%. Mean survival in those patients with unknown primary tumor at intracranial surgery was 15.3 months as compared to 31.6 months in those in whom it remained unidentified during life. The usual cause of death was growth of the systemic cancer.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Supratentorial arachnoid cysts: clinical and therapeutic remarks on 46 cases.

The authors report 46 cases of primary supratentorial arachnoid cysts. Thirty-two patients presented with symptomatic arachnoid cysts, which act as space-occupying lesions and were surgically treated by fenestration. 14 patients presented with a scarcity of symptoms; for this reason they were kept under control by periodical neuroradiological examination. After a long follow-up period (median 11 years), 97% of the operated patients presented neurological improvement and a decrease in the size of the cyst; none of the patients who were not operated on showed any variation in either neurological status or size of the cyst. The authors discuss their findings in the light of the published papers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Bifid median nerve: report of two cases.

The median nerve divides into its terminal branches at or proximal to the distal edge of the flexor retinaculum. An anatomy of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel is reported in two separate cases. Emphasis has been given to the value of direct vision when incising the flexor retinaculum in order to avoid injure of the median nerve.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Solitary cerebral metastases from intestinal carcinoma.

The authors report 34 cases of solitary cerebral metastases from intestinal cancer. In 24 cases the tumour was localized in the colonrectum and in 10 in the small intestine. In 8 patients (23%) neurological symptoms were the first clinical sign of systemic spread of the tumour; in 26 cases (77%) there was a long interval between treatment of the primary and appearance of the cerebral metastasis (average 24 months). Average survival was 10 months and was influenced solely by staging of the primary. Interestingly, the prognostic value of radiotherapy was minimal and none of the patients operated by the "no touch technique" presented with a recurrence.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Solitary plasmacytoma of the spine: relationship of IGM to tumour progression and recurrence.

The authors report a retrospective study of 15 patients with solitary vertebral plasmacytoma. 15 patients were considered in this study on the basis of the following characteristics: 1) histologically confirmed plasmacytoma following surgical removal; 2) existence of a single vertebral lesion, documented by skeletal and MRI scan; 3) no signs, at diagnosis of disseminated disease by blood laboratory test, urine analysis, sternal puncture, iliac bone marrow biopsy, a total-body CT scan. The clinical course of the patients has been analysed on the basis of the following factors: age, sex, length of clinical history before diagnosis, site, presence/absence of the M component. The M component is an electrophoretically homogeneous immunoglobin. The most significant factors for predicting development of multiple myeloma proved to be the presence /absence of the M component at diagnosis and, to a lesser degree, the age of the patient. In the light of other reports too, it would seem that the presence of the M component at diagnosis is a reflection of aggressive biological and clinical tumour behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Primary spinal malignant schwannomas: clinical and prognostic remarks.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath spinal tumours are relatively rare. A primary spinal location at onset from the nerve roots is rarely reported in the literature, thus the clinical features and therapeutic results of these spinal malignant tumours are not defined. Six cases of malignant primary spinal schwannomas, 2% of 293 spinal schwannomas operated on in a 38 year period, are reported. Based on an analysis of a limited number of cases, ours and those collected from the literature (21 patients), some suggestions are possible: a) pre-operative clinical presentation and imaging studies are not predictive of malignancy; b) postoperative outcome is poor, especially in patients with von Recklinghausen's disease and after partial removal of the tumour; c) local recurrence and metastases are possible, even after radical surgery and radiotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Intramedullary cavernous angiomas of the spinal cord: report of six cases.

The authors report six cases of intramedullary cavernoma. Symptoms evolved by episodes of stepwise neurologic deterioration or slow progression. All patients had preoperative and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Removal of the cavernoma was total in all cases and in one a transthoracic approach was performed because of the ventral and superficial position of the lesion. At follow-up, ranging from 6 to 18 months, two patients improved, two were unchanged, and one had deteriorated. Prognosis was influenced by the length of clinical history and the severity of preoperative symptoms. The principal clinical and therapeutic aspects of cavernoma are discussed in light of the published data.

Adult↗