Anomalous Posterior Arch of Atlas: A Rare Cause for Craniovertebral Junction Compression.

Congenital hypoplasia of the anterior and posterior arch of the atlas has been described in the literature. Currarino and associates classified this into various types based on the part of the arch that was hypoplastic. Gin and associates stated that posterior atlantal anomalies were more frequently encountered than anterior arch anomalies. Rarely do these anomalies present in the absence of genetic syndromes. Here, we describe our clinical experience of an anomalous posterior atlantal arch in a nonsyndromic patient.

Post-resection Cavity Lavage of High Grade Glioma With a Novel Drug Combination: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: High grade gliomas are the most common and most lethal primary cancers of the central nervous system. CASE REPORT: We herein present a case report of a long-term surviving 36-year-old female diagnosed with high grade glioma, for which she underwent neurosurgery with a gross total removal of the tumor. Shortly thereafter (<3 months) she was readmitted in a desolate state due to a large recurrence. After Ethical Committee approval, proper explanation, and consent from spouse, she was subjected to a reoperation involving a post-operative infusion into the excised tumor cavity, containing a mixture of a non-physiological amino acid in millimolar concentration and a proapoptotic drug in micromolar concentration. The patient tolerated the treatment well and was discharged in a stable state thereafter. A series of follow ups revealed successive clinical improvements and after 4-6 months, she had recovered with mild left hemiparesis, meaning that she was able to carry out activities of daily living independently. Now, 5.5 years later, after the recurrence and the infusion therapy, she continues to have a mild left hemiparesis and her MRI with contrast shows no evidence of tumor. CONCLUSION: Continuous intratumoral infusion therapy with an artificial amino acid combined with a proapoptotic drug results in complete glioma cell lysis both in vitro and in vivo.

Spinal Ewing's Sarcoma Presenting as an Epidural Collection: A Rare Presentation of a Rare Entity.

Rare entities are difficult to predict. They are considered last rightly, to expedite treatment and alleviate symptoms quickly. Rare presentations of rare diseases form a particularly difficult section of diagnoses that are not only impossible to predict but difficult to recognize, diagnose, and treat. Often the dilemma is to, investigate thoroughly saving time but financially burdening the patient and hospital, or, to investigate in gradual increments taking more time and effort, especially in rare cases where prolonged hospitalization and suffering occurs before the diagnosis is reached. This approach, however, wastes critically important time, which, especially in neurological compression, may often lead to irreversible deficits. This dilemma is admirably demonstrated in this case report of spinal Ewing's sarcoma. A young female presented to us with recurrent high cervical epidural collections presenting as compressive myelopathy. She underwent repeated decompressions, and the collection was misdiagnosed as tuberculosis, which was treated without empirical evidence, leading to significant irreversible disability. Finally, when she came to us, the histopathological assessment was done to reveal the diagnosis. Ewing's sarcomas, and indeed the whole gamut of small-round-cell malignancies, are great imitators. They are known to exist in the skull base mimicking schwannomas, chordomas, germinomas, pituitary adenomas, and even epidermoids and occasionally extend to the vertebral bodies and the cranio-vertebral Junction (CVJ) leading to instability and neurological compression. Here, they mimic vertebral tumors, discitis, infective abscesses, and even myeloma. Predictably, such an entity is diagnosed last, and diagnosed late, leading to bad consequences for the patient. Such was the fate of our patient. The report emphasizes the diagnostic dilemma and presents the need to use protocols for diagnosis and treatment, even in rare cases, to effect the best possible outcomes for patients. The use of a thorough diagnostic and management algorhythm prevents deeper and sinister disease processes from being missed.