Surgical Treatment of Falcotentorial Meningioma: An Illustrative Case Report and Literature Review.

Falcotentorial meningiomas are rare tumors, representing only 2-3% of all intracranial meningiomas. These tumors can grow rapidly, leading to severe neurological complications. They grow at the junction of the tentorium cerebelli and the falx cerebri, in close proximity to the great vein of Galen. The surgical approach depends on several factors, such as the tumor's size, the patency of the straight sinus, and its location, either above or below the tentorium. Complete removal of the tumor in this area is difficult due to its deep location near major neurovascular structures. Various surgical approaches can be employed to remove these tumors, and the decision on which approach to use should be based on its advantages and disadvantages.

Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage Associated With an Intracranial Meningioma.

Spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage associated with an intracranial meningioma is rare, with a reported incidence of below 2.4% of all meningiomas. Such cases are described with a cause subdural with intratumoral hemorrhage, which is a challenge for patients and healthcare professionals because it can occur spontaneously without other pathological antecedents. We describe the case of a 55-year-old woman with subdural hemorrhage over the frontoparietal region of the right hemisphere associated with a meningioma, generating a mass effect and shifting the third ventricle and lateral ventricle. Therefore, urgent surgical treatment was decided. A tumor lesion was found with apoplexy, soft consistency, and violaceous color with abundant vascularity in the lesion's center, suggesting a probable angiomatous meningioma. The histopathological evaluation confirmed meningothelial hemorrhagic meningioma grade I, according to the World Health Organization grading. This article discusses the causes, risk factors, diagnosis, and surgical treatment for hemorrhage associated with intracranial meningioma.

In Vitro Study of Taenia solium Postoncospheral Form.

BACKGROUND: The transitional period between the oncosphere and the cysticercus of Taenia solium is the postoncospheral (PO) form, which has not yet been completely characterized. The aim of this work was to standardize a method to obtain T. solium PO forms by in vitro cultivation. We studied the morphology of the PO form and compared the expression of antigenic proteins among the PO form, oncosphere, and cysticerci stages. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: T. solium activated oncospheres were co-cultured with ten cell lines to obtain PO forms, which we studied at three stages of development--days 15, 30, and 60. A high percentage (32%) of PO forms was obtained using HCT-8 cells in comparison to the other cell lines. The morphology was observed by bright field, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Morphology of the PO form changed over time, with the six hooks commonly seen in the oncosphere stage disappearing in the PO forms, and vesicles and microtriches observed in the tegument. The PO forms grew as they aged, reaching a diameter of 2.5 mm at 60 days of culture. 15-30 day PO forms developed into mature cysticerci when inoculated into rats. Antigenic proteins expressed in the PO forms are also expressed by the oncosphere and cysticerci stages, with more cysticerci antigenic proteins expressed as the PO forms ages. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first report of an in vitro production method of T. solium PO forms. The changes observed in protein expression may be useful in identifying new targets for vaccine development. In vitro culture of PO form will aid in understanding the host-parasite relationship, since the structural changes of the developing PO forms may reflect the parasite's immunoprotective mechanisms. A wider application of this method could significantly reduce the use of animals, and thus the costs and time required for further experimental investigations.

Novel rat model for neurocysticercosis using Taenia solium.

Neurocysticercosis is caused by Taenia solium infecting the central nervous system and is the leading cause of acquired epilepsy and convulsive conditions worldwide. Research into the pathophysiology of the disease and appropriate treatment is hindered by lack of cost-effective and physiologically similar animal models. We generated a novel rat neurocysticercosis model using intracranial infection with activated T. solium oncospheres. Holtzman rats were infected in two separate groups: the first group was inoculated extraparenchymally and the second intraparenchymally, with different doses of activated oncospheres. The groups were evaluated at three different ages. Histologic examination of the tissue surrounding T. solium cysticerci was performed. Results indicate that generally infected rats developed cysticerci in the brain tissue after 4 months, and the cysticerci were observed in the parenchymal, ventricle, or submeningeal brain tissue. The route of infection did not have a statistically significant effect on the proportion of rats that developed cysticerci, and there was no dependence on infection dose. However, rat age was crucial to the success of the infection. Epilepsy was observed in 9% of rats with neurocysticercosis. In histologic examination, a layer of collagen tissue, inflammatory infiltrate cells, perivascular infiltrate, angiogenesis, spongy change, and mass effect were observed in the tissue surrounding the cysts. This study presents a suitable animal model for the study of human neurocysticercosis.