Cavernous angioma of brain stem mimicking multiple sclerosis.

A 14-year-old boy was admitted to our Department due to peripheral palsy of right VII and bilateral of the VI cranial nerves, spasticity, cerebellar symptoms as well as to dysphagia and dysarthria. In general, he was hospitalized 13 times because of the disease of a relapsing-remitting and next progressive course. He died 31 years after onset of the disease. Multiple sclerosis was diagnosed. Brain autopsy revealed tumor involving almost all brain stem structures and a part of right cerebellar hemisphere. Histologically, cavernous angioma was diagnosed.

[Unusual clinical course in a case of carcinomatosis of cerebrospinal meninges]. / Niezwykly prezebieg kliniczny w przypadku rakowatosci opon mózgowo-rdzeniowych.

The authors report the clinical course of a case of carcinomatosis of the cerebrospinal meninges with frequent sudden rises of intracranial pressure and with lethal outcome. The primary tumour was a mucinous carcinoma of the ovary. In treatment Pudenz valve was used successfully for connecting the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord with the peritoneal cavity. This shunting of the cerebrospinal fluid caused no dissemination of the neoplasm within the peritoneal cavity.

[Neurologic complications in high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Clinico-neuropathological correlations]. / Powiklania neurologiczne w chloniakach nieziarniczych o wysokiej zlosliwosci. Korelacje kliniczno-neuropatologiczne.

The neurological and electroneurographic assessment was carried out in 56 patients with high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphomas. In 37 patients the neuropathological examination was also done. Polyneuropathy was the most frequent sign of nervous system involvement, observed in 40% of patients before chemotherapy and markedly enhanced by cytostatics. The signs of the central nervous system involvement were usually caused by lymphomatous infiltrations within leptomeninges, especially in lymphoblastic and immunoblastic lymphomas. The authors stress that cerebro-spinal fluid should be investigated several times for avoiding of false negative results. Signs of lymphomatous infiltrations disappeared after treatment, while signs of polyneuropathy due to chemotherapy increased during cytostatic treatment.

[Cytological picture of the cerebrospinal fluid and the neuropathological changes in the central nervous system in acute leukemia in adults]. / Obraz cytologiczny plynu mózgowo-rdzeniowego a zmiany neuropatologiczne w osrodkowym ukladzie nerwowym w ostrych bialaczkach u doroslych.

Twenty-one patients with acute leukaemias were studied carrying out cytological investigations of the cerebrospinal fluid and then postmortem neuropathological examinations. The aim of the study was a comparison of these results. No correlation was demonstrated between CSF changes and the extent and location of leukaemic infiltrates in the meninges and the brain. In cases of subarachnoid haemorrhage the intensity of CSF changes was proportional to the extent of subarachnoid haemorrhage but was independent of its location.

[Fibrinogen and lipids: associated risk factors for ischemic cerebral stroke]. / Fibrynogen i lipidowe czynniki ryzyka w niedokrwiennym udarze mózgu.

The study included 55 patients (18 females, 37 males); aged 32-75 yr. who divided into three groups according to the severity of clinical picture: 12 people with reversible ischaemic stroke (RIS), 20 with progressive ischaemic stroke (PIS), 23 with complete stroke (CS). Levels of total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDL), apolipoproteins A1 and B (ApoA1 and ApoB), fibrinogen (Fb) and Lp (a) were measured. Lipid factor of atherosclerosis (ATHi) was quantified. Qualitative evaluation of lipids contents in cerebrospinal fluid (CSR) was performed. Distribution of cholesterol--containing lipids among the fractions, despite low values, had clearly atherogenic profile. 12% patients with irreversible ischaemic stroke, 16% with progressive ischaemic stroke and 85% with complete stroke had Fb level above 4 g/l. Lp (a) levels in all cases were significantly higher in the cells isolated from CSF. The severity of the stroke correlated with increasing levels of lipids in the cells isolated from SF. There was correlation between LDL cholesterol and content of lipids in the cells from CSF.

[Neoplastic encephalopathy in the light of 2 observed cases]. / Uwagi na temat encefalopatii nowotworowej na marginesie obserwacji dwóch przypadków.

The authors report two cases of neoplastic encephalopathy. In one patient with oviduct carcinoma it had the form of cerebellopathy. In the other case of renal carcinoma it appeared as encephalopathy with a nearly exclusive involvement of cerebral hemispheres. The reaction of microglia, lymphocytes and diffuse demyelination found in these cases are regarded by the authors as a result of autoimmunization in the course of malignant neoplasm. Attention is called to the importance of axial computer tomography in the intravital diagnosis of this encephalopathy.

[Cerebrospinal fluid, especially cell findings, in subarachnoid hemorrhage]. / Der Liquor cerebrospinalis, insbesondere die Zellbefunde im Verlauf subarachnoidaler Blutungen.

Liquor samples (n = 303 each from the Neurological Department of the Wilhelm Pieck University Rostock, GDR and the Neurological Hospital of the Pommeranian Medical Academy, Szczecin, Poland) collected from patients following subarachnoid hemorrhage are used as a basis to present various findings for the, on the whole, characteristic hemorrhagic liquor syndrome. The differential liquor cell picture (sedimentation after Sayk) is important for determining the time of the hemorrhage and the post-hemorrhage phase and for identifying recidivating hemorrhage and complications, including hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis (lympho-plasmocytic cells), post-traumatic states (activated macrophage and storage function) and blastomatous infiltration (malignoma cells). Artificial blood contamination (easily recognisable immediately after puncture) leads to differences, with less granulocytosis and a few sparsely charged macrophages, a few days later; the same also applies to diseases stemming from the vessels and hematomas that are not in contact with the liquor space. Despite the introduction of diagnostic hardware, examination of the liquor a few days after subarachnoid hemorrhage is still important as a means of identifying recidivating hemorrhage and complications and, in particular, for differentiation from inlammatory diseases of the CNS.