Secretory meningioma with bone infiltration and orbital spreading.

Secretory meningioma is a rare form of meningiomas which differentiates from the meningothelial subtype. It is characterized by significant peritumor edema and distinct immunohistochemical and molecular genetic profiles. We present a middle aged female patient with secretory meningioma infiltrating the orbital bone from the primary cranial base location and causing exophthalmos, features rarely described with this tumor. Surgical resection was challenging because of the associated brain swelling and rich vascularization of the tumor. Imaging and immunohistochemical studies revealed characteristic hallmarks of secretory meningioma. While histologically it was a benign tumor, due to the orbital bone and soft tissue infiltration, postoperative management of neurological sequelae was challenging. This case highlights distinctive clinical, imaging and histological features along with individual characteristics of a rare form of meningiomas.

Gender- and age-dependent changes in nucleoside levels in the cerebral cortex and white matter of the human brain.

Nucleosides are neuromodulators that participate in various neuronal functions in the brain. In previous studies, we described regional differences in the concentrations of nucleosides and their derivatives in the human brain. To better understand the functions of nucleosides in the central nervous system, we investigated gender- and age-dependent changes in the levels of nucleosides and their metabolites. The concentrations of uridine, inosine, guanosine and adenosine as well as uracil, hypoxanthine and xanthine were measured in the frontal cortex and white matter of post-mortem brain tissue samples of middle-aged and old men as well as women. The average in vivo concentrations calculated from the 40 samples investigated (regardless of anatomical locations, gender or age; mean +/- S.E.M.) were as follows (pmol/mg wet tissue weight): 9.7 +/- 0.8 adenosine, 85.8 +/- 3.9 inosine, 14.3 +/- 0.9 guanosine, 37.3 +/- 1.8 uridine, 8.9 +/- 0.6 uracil, 63.3 +/- 2.1 hypoxanthine and 38.7 +/- 1.5 xanthine. We conclude that concentration differences between uridine, inosine, guanosine and adenosine in the frontal cortex and cerebral white matter suggest that nucleoside metabolism is altered with aging and regulated differently between men and women.