CNS paraganglioma: 15-year experience in a tertiary care hospital with literature review.

Paraganglioma that involves the CNS may mimic clinico-radiologically many other commoner entities. The current study presents a wide view of the clinical, radiological, and histomorphological spectrum along with rare associations that can occur concurrently with this lesion. The most common site of infliction in CNS is the spine and, in the current series, involvement of the lumbar spine was most frequent. Both clinical and radiological features point towards other more common differentials, including neurofibroma/schwannoma and ependymoma. Some studies suggest rich vascularity (cap sign) and salt pepper appearance in T2-weighted images to serve as soft pointers towards diagnosing it on magnetic resonance imaging, however, in our series we did not encounter the same.

Extensive anterior skull-base mesenchymal chondrosarcoma: unusual cause of multiple indolent masses on the forehead.

Primary intracranial occurrence of an extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma (MC) is unusual. The commonly involved sites are the orbit, clivus and temporo-occipital junction. Occurrence of the lesion in the anterior skull-base (ASB) in an infiltrative manner and with extra-calvarial involvement, is anecdotal. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman who presented with two indolent swellings on the forehead for a duration of 1 year. Examination revealed impaired visual acuity and complete external ophthalmoplegia in the right eye and 5 × 6 cm and 2 × 3 cm sized hard masses on the forehead. CT and MRI revealed a large, intensely enhancing ASB mass with extensions into the right orbit, ethmoid sinus, nasal cavity, and anteriorly, into the subcutaneous tissue of the frontal scalp through erosions in the bone. At surgery via a right frontal recraniotomy, the lesion was found to be firm and very vascular. Owing to its extreme vascularity, decompression was limited to excision of the intracranial and extra-calvarial components of the lesion. Histopathology was consistent with the diagnosis of MC. The patient was advised a second stage surgery for excision of the residual lesion. She, however, opted for radiation therapy and was lost to follow-up. This report, with one of the most extensive ASB MCs described to date, adds to the list of rare differentials of indolent forehead masses in the diagnostic armamentarium of the neuropathologist.

Surgical management of thalamic gliomas: case selection, technical considerations, and review of literature.

This study aimed to identify (1) the thalamic gliomas suitable for surgical resection and (2) the appropriate surgical approach based on their location and the displacement of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC). A retrospective study over a 5-year period (from 2006 to 2010) was performed in 41 patients with thalamic gliomas. The mean age of these patients was 20.4 years (range, 2-65 years). Twenty (49 %) tumors were thalamic, 19 (46 %) were thalamopeduncular, and 2 (5 %) were bilateral. The PLIC, based on T2-weighted magnetic resonance axial sections, was displaced anterolaterally in 23 (56 %) cases and laterally in 6 (14 %) cases. It was involved by lesion in eight (20 %) cases and could not be identified in four (10 %) cases. Resection, favored in patients with well-defined, contrast-enhancing lesions, was performed in 34 (83 %) cases, while a biopsy was resorted to in 7 (17 %) cases. A gross total resection or near total resection (>90 %) could be achieved in 26 (63 %) cases. The middle temporal gyrus approach, used when the PLIC was displaced anterolaterally, was the commonly used approach (63.5 %). Common pathologies were pilocytic astrocytoma (58 %) in children and grade III/IV astrocytomas (86 %) in adults. Preoperative motor deficits improved in 64 % of the patients with pilocytic lesions as compared to 0 % in patients with grade III/IV lesions (P value, 0.001). Postoperatively, two patients (5 %) had marginal worsening of motor power, two patients developed visual field defects, and one patient developed a third nerve paresis. Radical resection of thalamic gliomas is a useful treatment modality in a select subset of patients and is the treatment of choice for pilocytic astrocytomas. Tailoring the surgical approach, depending on the relative position of the PLIC, has an important bearing on outcome.

A nondysraphic paraspinal mass and a ventricular septal defect: unusual components of diabetes-induced mesodermal derangement.

Solitary paraspinal masses in the pediatric age group commonly occur secondary to spinal dysraphism, chronic inflammatory conditions, and tumors. We describe the unusual case of a 10-year-old boy with a nondysraphic, paraspinal mass that had occurred secondary to congenital spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL) in the setting of poorly controlled maternal type-I diabetes mellitus. The mass was picked up along with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) on an antenatal ultrasonogram. This is the first report in literature of SEL presenting as a solitary paraspinal mass at birth, and in the unusual setting of an antenatal mesodermal derangement that simultaneously engendered a VSD.

Fat in the brain: Facts and features.

The presence of fat within a lesion in the brain is not only easy to identify on both CT/MRI but also can help narrow the differential. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the spectrum of common and rare fat-containing lesions in the brain that are encountered in clinical practice. This paper intends to discuss 15 such lesions which are confirmed by MRI findings and histopathological correlation. We divided the spectrum of fat-containing lesions into lesions with adipose cells, lesions with cholesterol-rich content and tumours with lipomatous differentiation/transformation. Knowledge of these common and rare fat-containing lesions is essential for making the right diagnosis or narrowing the differential diagnosis.

A clinicopathological study of diagnostically challenging meningioma mimics.

The occurrence of neoplastic and nonneoplastic dural based masses that mimic meningiomas is infrequent and may not be considered during radiological and intraoperative analysis. We describe single institute study of 20 such rare cases. This study included total of 20 cases of meningioma mimics. The clinical, radiological and histopathological findings were evaluated. Tissue fixed in 10% formalin was routinely processed and 5 µ thick sections were cut and stained with hematoxylin & eosin. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry using avidin-biotin complex immunoperoxidase method was done wherever indicated. In the present study group, 15 were male and 5 female with a male: female ratio of 3:1. The age ranged from 14 to 78 years. Radiologically all these lesions were extra-axial in location, predominantly hypointense on T2W, isointense on T1W images and showed intense homogenous enhancement on contrast administration. Four cases were in pediatric age group with histopathological diagnosis of Rosai Dorfman disease, medulloblastoma, hemangiopericytoma and malignant melanoma. In the adult population, the histopathological diagnoses were hemangiopericytoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, extraskeletal osteosarcoma, Rosai Dorfman disease, medulloblastoma, and metastases from systemic malignancies. Of the total 6 cases of metastases 1 was nonseminomatous germ cell tumor from a primary in testis, 1 was adenocarcinoma from an unknown primary, and 4 were adenocarcinoma from lung. There was a single case of dural based frontal lobe malignant melanoma with congenital hairy nevi on anterior chest wall, scalp, anterior abdominal wall and inguinal region. As the management and biologic behaviour of many of the MM are different, it is essential to familiarize ourselves to them.

Mixed schwannoma with meningioma - report on 2 cases of unusual tumor with review of literature.

We present 2 rare cases of mixed schwannoma with meningioma. The first case was sporadic, in a 38-year-old female in cervical spine (C2). The second case was a 24-year-old female, associated with NF-2, involving bilateral cerebellopontine angle with extension into the left cavernous sinus, sellar region with erosion of the petrous ridge and multiple intradural extramedullary lesions in the spinal cord suggestive of neurofibromas. To date only 12 cases of such tumors are documented in the literature. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of sporadic mixed schwannoma with meningioma in cervical spine (C2).

Multiple intracranial de-novo chloromas presenting with Garcin's syndrome.

Intracranial occurrence of a chloroma (myeloid sarcoma, MS) in the absence of a preceding hematological malignancy is unusual. We report the case of a 20-year-old man who presented with Garcin's syndrome of short duration. MRI revealed multiple extra-axial contrast enhancing lesions: two mirror lesions on the skull base, and one in the right parietal convexity. The parietal lesion was excised and histologically and immunohistochemically proved to be a differentiated variant of MS. Peripheral blood smear and bone marrow biopsy ruled out an underlying leukemia or myeloproliferative disorder. With a diagnosis of intracranial de-novo MS, he was referred for chemotherapy and radiation therapy. 15 months later, his clinical status remained the same while his imaging showed marginal decrease in size of the lesions. A repeat bone marrow biopsy remained normal. This is a first-of-its- kind report of multiple intracranial lesions of a de-novo MS presenting as Garcin's syndrome. Radiological differentials, immunohistochemical variants and management options related to MS are discussed in the light of the reported case.

Fatal leptomeningeal melanoma in neurocutaneous melanosis.

We report an unusual occurrence of a primary dural-based malignant melanoma in a 13-year-old boy with neurocutaneous melanosis. The lesion presented with rapid-onset symptoms characterized by raised intracranial pressure and seizures, had an aggressive clinical course, and proved to be fatal despite two surgeries and adjuvant therapy. There should be a high index of suspicion for the occurrence of such a malignant leptomeningeal tumor in patients with congenital melanocytic nevi presenting with neurological symptoms of recent onset.

Inflammatory pseudotumor arising from the right ventricular outflow tract causing pulmonary stenosis.

Inflammatory pseudotumor (also known as inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor) is an uncommon spindle cell lesion that was initially recognized in the lung and is now known to occur in virtually every major organ of the body. We report a case of a seven-year-old male who had an inflammatory pseudotumor of the right ventricular outflow tract involving the pulmonary valve causing pulmonary stenosis.

Atypical presentation of pediatric mixed germ cell tumors in the sellar-suprasellar region.

Intracranial germ cell tumors constitute a unique group of tumors, more often reported from the Asian region. Amongst them, the non-germinomatous variety occurs with a lesser frequency than the germinomatous variety. We report two children with mixed germ cell tumors with unusual clinical presentations: Central diabetes insipidus and recent-onset oculomotor palsy mimicking pituitary apoplexy. Unlike in adults, suprasellar lesions with a pituitary apoplexy-like picture in the pediatric age group may suggest a possibility of a mixed germ cell tumor.

Isolated sellar tuberculoma presenting with panhypopituitarism: clinical, diagnostic considerations and literature review.

Tuberculosis, a common cause for chronic intracranial infections can mimic varied intracranial pathologies including tumours. Pituitary tuberculomas are rare lesions and are often diagnosed pre-operatively as pituitary tumours. We report a case of a 31-year-old lady with a sellar-suprasellar lesion who presented with panhypopituitarism. The patient underwent a trans-nasal, trans-sphenoidal surgical decompression of the lesion. Histopathology revealed a tuberculous lesion in the pituitary. The characteristic radiological features of sellar tuberculomas are discussed along with a review of literature. Atypical sellar radiology in the presence of a thickened pituitary stalk could point to pathology other than pituitary adenoma, possibly a chronic inflammatory condition like tuberculoma.

Fibro-osseous lesion of the pineal region resembling osteoblastoma: a case report.

A case of unusual fibro-osseous lesion resembling osteoblastoma of the pineal region is reported, in a 50-year-old man. The patient presented with a history of headache, vomiting and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. CT scan showed a hyperdense lesion in the posterior third ventricle with obstructive hydrocephalus. On histopathology the lesion showed cellular areas with oval to polygonal cells showing clear to eosinophilic cytoplasm along with focal anastomosing network of osetoid-like extracellular material lined by similar cells. The extracellular material was seen densely calcified at places with cement lines and Haversian canal formation. The cells were strongly immunoreactive for epithelial membrane antigen and focally for S-100 protein and negative for glial fibrillary acidic protein.

Synchronous occurrence of a hemorrhagic hypothalamic hamartoma and a suprasellar teratoma.

Hypothalamic hamartomas have been reported to coexist with lesions like Rathke's cleft cyst and arachnoid cysts in the suprasellar or temporo-sylvian regions. This is the first report in indexed literature describing its association with a suprasellar teratoma. A 7-year-old girl presented with long-standing precocious puberty and generalized tonic-clonic seizures and recent-onset raised intracranial pressure. MRI done prior to the onset of symptomatic raised intracranial pressure revealed 2 distinct lesions in the suprasellar region. One was a midline, pedunculated lesion arising from the hypothalamus, with evidence of an old bleed within it. A separate lesion, with a wide base near the tuberculum sellae and a posteriorly directed conical tip, was noted in an adjacent sagittal cut. CT scan done at the time of admission demonstrated a re-bleed in the suprasellar region with blood in the lateral and third ventricles and gross hydrocephalus. The child was taken up for a ventriculoperitoneal shunt followed by complete excision of the lesions. Histopathologic examination confirmed the pedunculated lesion to be a hypothalamic hamartoma with evidence of hemorrhage, and the other to be a mature teratoma. Postoperative MRI confirmed complete excision of both the lesions. The child reported regression of precocious puberty and remained seizure-free until the last follow-up 6 months after surgery. A hypothesis based on a dysontogenetic mechanism is discussed to explain the unusual occurrence of the dual, seemingly unrelated pathologies. Hemorrhage into the hamartoma was an added oddity in this case.

Metachronous occurrence of a temporal ganglioglioma and a bifrontal anaplastic ependymoma: coincidence or an explainable pathological curiosity?

In this first-of-its-kind report, we describe an unusual case of a 32-year-old man who harboured two biologically distinct metachronous brain tumours. He presented with features of raised intracranial pressure 8 years after total excision of a right temporal ganglioglioma. Imaging showed a heterogenously contrast enhancing bifrontal lesion with ventricular extension. Histopathological examination revealed an anaplastic ependymoma. While a co-incidental occurrence is a possibility, there could be possible mechanisms to explain this pathological oddity.