Sudden appearance of a mycotic aneurysm of the intracavernous carotid artery after symptoms resembling cluster headache: case report.

Acute cavernous sinus syndrome developed in a 44-year-old man after he had experienced symptoms resembling cluster headache for 3 weeks. The cause was determined to be the sudden appearance of a large saccular aneurysm of the intracavernous portion of the left carotid artery secondary to an acute inflammation of the left cavernous sinus. The absence of this aneurysm before the onset of the ophthalmoplegia was confirmed by a computed tomographic scan and angiogram performed only 1 week earlier. The patient was treated with antibiotics in combination with a short regimen of steroids, which resulted in a slowly developing thrombosis of the aneurysm, although the cavernous sinus syndrome remained. This case suggests several important aspects regarding the pathogenesis of mycotic intracavernous carotid aneurysms, the mechanism of an acute manifestation of the cavernous sinus syndrome by an intracavernous carotid aneurysm, and the relation of the intracavernous portion of the carotid artery to cluster headache.

[Primary intracranial epidermoid carcinoma accompanied with epidermoid cyst in the cerebellopontine angle--a case report].

A case of epidermoid carcinoma arising in an epidermoid cyst in the cerebellopontine angle is presented. Clinical features and CT appearance are discussed in comparison with those of benign epidermoid cyst. A 43-year-old man was admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tokyo Hospital on April 14, 1983, with complaints of right facial numbness and weakness of six months' history. On neurological examination, sensation of the right half of the face was decreased in all modalities. Marked atrophy of the ipsilateral temporal muscle was also noted. Right facial paresis of peripheral type was evident. Gag reflex was decreased on the same side. Except for a slightly increased left deep tendon reflexes, there were no pyramidal tract signs. A CT without contrast material failed to show any abnormalities. A postcontrast CT demonstrated an irregular enhancement in the right cerebellopontine angle. The finding of asymmetry of the ambient cistern indicated minimum mass effect on the metrizamide CT cisternography. Suboccipital exploration of the right cerebellopontine angle was carried out on April 28, 1983. Leaving a part of the capsule indenting the pons between the roots of the fifth and the seventh nerve, we removed a white pearly tumor. Histological diagnosis was typical epidermoid cyst. He left the hospital one month later with signs of the right seventh and the eighth nerve. His postoperative course, however, was beyond our expectation. Over a few months following his discharge, left hemiparesis as well as horizontal and vertical nystagmus gradually developed. He was readmitted on November 10, 1983. A postcontrast CT revealed enlargement of the enhanced lesion filling the right ambient cistern.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)