Isolated acute dysphagia due to varicella-zoster virus.

We present a case of zoster sine herpete causing isolated acute dysphagia in an immunocompetent patient. The interest of this paper is the atypical presentation of varicella-zoster virus reactivation. A 77-year-old woman presented with a 3-day history of fever and worsening dysphagia for both liquid and solid foods. Cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed lymphocytic pleocytosis and PCR amplified varicella-zoster virus DNA with high antibody titers in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The panel was suggestive of a cranial neuritis due to varicella-zoster virus, involved cranial nerves, even in the absence of a cutaneous and mucosal rash. Varicella-zoster virus reactivation should be included in the differential diagnosis of isolated or multiple cranial nerve palsies, with or without zosteriform skin lesions. A prompt etiologic diagnosis can lead to early administration of antiviral therapy.

Spinal glioneuronal tumor with neuropil-like islands and meningeal dissemination: histopathological and radiological study of a pediatric case.

Cerebral and spinal location of glioneuronal tumors have been recently described as a novel type of primary CNS neoplasia. A distinctive rare form of glioneuronal tumors with neuropil-like islands (GTNI) have been reported to occur in the adult cerebrum, whereas spinal GTNI localization is extremely rare. In the present report we describe a case of a 15-month-old child with a spinal GTNI of the cervical region and meningeal dissemination. Histologically the tumor was composed of round, small neurocytic-like cells arranged around eosinophilic neuropil cores and embedded in a diffuse fibrillar glial component forming prominent "rosetted" neuropil islands displaying strong immunoreactivity for neuronal markers. Cerebral GTNI shows abundant glial components not rarely exhibiting anaplastic features that justify their inclusion within the group of diffuse astrocytomas. In contrast, including our case, spinal GTNI do not show histological evidence of anaplastic features and exhibits a significant neuronal component that may imply considering these lesions in a separate group. Nevertheless, due to their exceptional rarity, the natural history of these lesions is not yet fully understood, but spinal GTNI seems to have an unfavorable clinical course despite their benign histopathological features, which must be taken into account for appropriate treatment and follow-up of the patient.