Symptomatic Rathke's cleft cysts; clinical and therapeutic data.

The authors report on a case of symptomatic Rathke's Cleft Cyst (RCC). The only clinical feature was headache. The cystic fluid was aspirated through a trans-sphenoidal approach. The postoperative course was uneventful. The rarity of symptomatic RCC (70 cases described in the literature; 30 operated patients) makes necessary the comparison of all data quoted in the different publications so as to define an appropriate attitude to treatment. It thus seems that the surgical procedure should be limited to an aspiration of the cyst contents through a trans-sphenoidal approach; such a procedure is more reliable than a craniotomy to avoid leakage of the cystic fluid into the subarachnoid space and possible postoperative aseptic meningitis. Some authors discussed the possibility of postoperative radiotherapy although only six patients developed recurrence of their clinical features several years after operation and also the efficacy of such a procedure has not been proved.

Cryptic vascular malformations diagnosed by stereotactic biopsies--a preliminary study.

A series of 14 cryptic vascular malformations (CVM) deeply situated or localized in functional cortical areas were diagnosed by serial stereotactic biopsies. No history was suggestive of hemorrhage, despite a substantial hematoma being evacuated during biopsy procedures in 4 patients. Retrospectively, CVM without hematoma were found to have certain characteristics that should raise the suspicion as to the correct diagnosis. At the time of discharge from the hospital, only 1 patient had mild aggravation of a preexisting motor deficit, which further improved. Serial stereotactic biopsies provided the required histological diagnosis with relatively low risk.

Ischemic strokes and oral contraception.

The authors describe the epidemiology and the physiopathological aspects of ischemic strokes in patients with a history of oestroprogestogen use. They then study their main radiological correlates: arterial infarcts at CT scan and angiographic non-specific lesions which can be included in the extremely wide framework of arteritis and, much more rarely, venous thrombophlebitis.