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L Pollak

Publications and source records attributed to L Pollak.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Clinical determinants of long-term survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

Repeated reports of more than ten years postoperative survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GM) have appeared in the literature over the last decades. Authors have tried to identify the clinical, therapeutic and histological features determining long-term survival. We present two patients in whom, after radical removal of the tumor followed by conventional radiation, there has been no recurrence for at least ten years. The young age of the patients and the radical surgical approach were in accordance with previous reports of long-term survival. Nevertheless, one tumor originated from the thalamus, a location considered to be of unfavorable prognosis. We therefore further discuss the value of clinical signs as determinants in the prognosis of GM.

Adolescent↗

Meningiomas after radiotherapy for tinea capitis--still no history.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: To review the clinical, radiological and histological findings of 19 patients with radiation-induced intracranial meningiomas treated at our neurosurgical department between 1981 and 1996. METHOD: The records of 18 patients with intracranial meningiomas who underwent low-dose radiation for tinea capitis in childhood, and of one patient irradiated for pituitary adenoma, were analyzed in respect of the previously reported features of postradiation meningiomas. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients with low-dose radiation-induced meningiomas was 58 years and the mean shortest onset latency was 48 years. The male to female ratio was 1.1:1. Forty-seven percent of patients presented with mental changes and/or focal neurological signs, 21% with signs of increased intracranial pressure and 26% with seizures. Calvarial location of the meningiomas was found in 54% of patients and in one patient the tumor arose from the skull base. Multiple tumors were present in 15% of patients and 29% of the meningiomas displayed malignant features on histological examination. A significantly lower meningioma recurrence rate was found in our series compared to the recurrence rate in the reported series of postradiation meningiomas. Five patients had a history of a second neoplasm other than meningioma. CONCLUSION: Our series of low-dose radiation-induced meningiomas represents one of the largest of its kind in the English literature. The patients did not differ substantially in sex ratio, tumor localization, multiplicity and histological features from the previously reported postradiation meningioma patients, except for the significantly lower tumor recurrence rate. It would seem that over the next years we will be further witnessing the deleterious effects of low-dose radiation administered in childhood.

Adult↗

Therapy-resistant seizures in pseudohypoparathyroidism. A case report.

A 30 year-old, mentally retarded female presented with uncontrolled seizures. The diagnosis of pseudohypoparathyroidism was established on grounds of clinical, laboratory and radiological evaluation. Despite normalization of serum calcium levels with vitamin D treatment, the patient continued to suffer from frequent convulsions. The possible pathogenesis of the therapy-resistant seizures and the therapeutic approach are discussed.

Adult↗