Basal encephalocele associated with suprasellar epidermoid cyst.

A 27-year-old woman suffered from multiple congenital defects, including transsphenoidal encephalocele. Recent progressive visual loss was at first attributed to this encephalocele, but was later proved to be caused by a suprasellar epidermoid cyst. Its removal was followed by improvement of vision. To the best of our knowledge, the association of basal encephalocele and epidermoid cyst has not been previously described.

Myasthenic crisis after intravenous administration of iodinated contrast agent.

Two women with myasthenia gravis became apneic immediately after IV injection of iodinated contrast material for CT. Aggravation of myasthenia continued for days after this initial reaction.

Occurrence of both neurofibromatoses 1 and 2 in the same individual with a rapidly progressive course.

We describe a family in which the father had neurofibromatosis-1 and the mother neurofibromatosis-2. Their son presented at the age of 8 years with bilateral acoustic neuromas, meningioma, and numerous neurofibromas. We believe that the occurrence of the genes responsible for both forms of neurofibromatosis in the same patient had a synergistic effect on the early rapid growth of neurofibromatoses 1 and 2 neoplasms.

Hydrocephalic dementia in Paget disease of the skull: treatment by ventriculoatrial shunt.

Severe dementia and ataxia in an elderly woman were related to hydrocephalus resulting from Paget disease of the skull, with basilar impression. Ventriculoatrial shunting resulted in dramatic improvement. This procedure, rather than suboccipital decompression, is probably the operation of choice, and should be carried out at an early stage.

An Israeli family with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease manifesting the codon 102 mutation in the prion protein gene.

We report the first family among the Jewish population in Israel with Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. A proline-for-leucine substitution at the codon 102 of the prion protein (PrP) gene was demonstrated. This mutation has been reported in families with the ataxic form of the disease.

The risk of developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in subjects with the PRNP gene codon 200 point mutation.

We determined the penetrance of the PRNP 200Lys mutation in the large cluster of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) cases among Jews of Libyan-Tunisian origin living in Israel, utilizing data from 52 carriers with definite or probable CJD and 34 unaffected mutation carriers. A life table analysis was carried out with development of CJD as the end point. The probability of developing CJD rose with age, fitting a second-order regression curve (R = 0.97, p < 0.001). The cumulative penetrance reached 50% at the age of 60 and 80% at 80 years. Including seven elderly possible CJD patients in the analysis made the penetrance approach 100% by age eighty. The penetrance of the mutation is high, and although age is a predominant influencing factor, other factors, such as gender, may also play a role.

Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in multiple sclerosis. Effect on relapses.

We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 40 patients (aged 19 to 60 years) with clinical definite relapsing remitting (RR) MS and brain MRI confirmed. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a loading dose of immunoglobulin IgG (0.4 g/kg/body weight per day for 5 consecutive days), followed by single booster doses (0.4 g/kg/body weight) or placebo once every 2 months for 2 years. The primary outcome measures were change in the yearly exacerbation rate (YER), proportion of exacerbation-free patients, and time until first exacerbation. Neurologic disability, exacerbation severity, and changes in brain MRI lesion score were the secondary outcome measures, all determined at baseline, 1 year, and on completion. Treated patients showed a reduction in YER from 1.85 to 0.75 after 1 year and 0.42 after 2 years versus 1.55 to 1.8 after 1 year and to 1.4 after 2 years in the placebo group (p = 0.0006, overall), reflecting a 38.6% reduction in relapse rate. Six patients in the IVIg group were exacerbation free throughout the 2-year period of the study, whereas none were exacerbation free in the placebo group. The median time to first exacerbation was 233 days in the IVIg group versus 82 days in the placebo group (p = 0.003). Neurologic disability as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS score) decreased by 0.3 in the IVIg group and increased by 0.15 in the placebo group. Total lesion score evaluated by brain MRI did not show a significant difference between groups. Side effects were minor and occurred in only 19 of 630 (3.0%) infusions administered in both groups. Our results suggest that IVIg may be safe and effective in reducing the frequency of exacerbations in RR-MS.

Recurrent miliary tuberculosis secondary to infected ventriculoatrial shunt.

The placing of a ventriculoatrial anastomosis because of elevated CSF pressure secondary to tuberculous meningitis resulted in repeated dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the anastomosis. The consequent clinical picture showed recurrent appearance and clearing of miliary tuberculosis of the lung in spite of antituberculosis chemotherapy. While this possibility was considered early, the diagnosis was not established until the shunt was replaced shortly before the patient's death.

Optic nerve anomalies in basal encephalocele.

Basal encephalocele should be suspected in child when hypertelorism, defect of the bridge of the nose, and other midfacial anomalies are present. Optic nerve anomalies may occur with basal encephalocele. Those previously described are pale discs, coloboma of the optic nerve head, and pit of the optic disc. Two additional disc anomalies that are associated with basal encephalocele are megalopapilla and optic nerve dysplasia. A mass in the nose or nasopharynx under these circumstances is most likely an encephalocele and biopsy is contraindicated.

Absence of mutations in ATM, the gene responsible for ataxia telangiectasia in patients with cerebellar ataxia.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder presenting in childhood with progressive cerebellar ataxia, oculocutaneous telangiectasia, immune deficiency, radiosensitivity, and cancer predisposition. The gene for AT, designated ATM (AT, mutated) encodes a protein with a carboxy-terminal phosphoinositide-3 kinase domain which is involved in cell cycle checkpoints and other responses to genotoxic stress. Most of the patients with the classical AT phenotype are homozygous or compound heterozygous for severe mutations causing truncation or destabilization of the ATM protein. Patients with a milder forms of disease, called AT variants, have been found to be either homozygous for milder mutations or compound heterozygotes for null alleles and mild mutations. In order to define the clinical phenotype of patients homozygous (or compound heterozygotes) for other, milder mutations, we decided to search for ATM mutations in patients with either sporadic or familial idiopathic ataxia. Thirty-four patients with idiopathic cerebellar ataxia, aged 3-77 years, were screened for mutations in the ATM coding region. There were 12 familial cases. None of the patients had abnormal immunoglobulin or alpha-fetoprotein levels, and none had mutations in the ATM coding region. In this heterogeneous group of patients with cerebellar ataxia we found no mutations in the ATM gene. We conclude that mutations in the ATM gene are probably not a common cause for cerebellar ataxia other than AT.

Cryptophthalmos syndrome with basal encephaloceles.

A 2,144-g white girl was born with absence of the right ear and eye, cleft lip and palate, two basal encephaloceles, tricuspid atresia, ventricualr and atrial septal defects, detransposition of the great vessels, right aortic arch, and aberrant right subclavian artery. Through an oval defect in the center of the sphenoid bone, soft tissue protruded into the right nasopharynx. The medial portions of the roof of both orbits and the cribriform plate were absent and soft tissue protruded through this bony defect. Basal tomography was required to demonstrate the encephaloceles, which should be suspected in any child with a median cleft syndrome, a flat broad nasal root, and hypertelorism.

Intracranial esthesioneuroblastoma associated with unilateral visual loss. Case report.

Esthesioneuroblastoma is a rare tumor that arises from the olfactory mucosa and presents usually as a mass in the nasal cavity. Neurological complications occur in about 20% of these cases. Nine cases have been recorded so far in which the neoplasm manifested initially as an intracranial mass. These cases are reviewed and another patient, presenting with progressive unilateral visual loss, is reported.

Vocal cord paralysis as a presenting sign in the Shy-Drager syndrome.

A 70-year-old patient with bilateral vocal cord paralysis, accompanied by inspiratory stridor and increased snoring, is presented. Respiratory dysfunction, deteriorating over 18 months, necessitated permanent tracheostomy. Only two and a half years after the onset of symptoms the patient developed extrapyramidal signs combined with severe autonomic failure, suggesting a diagnosis of Shy-Drager syndrome. Vocal cord palsy preceding any other neurological or autonomic manifestations of that syndrome has been infrequently described. This diagnosis should be considered in cases of vocal cord palsy of undetermined etiology, especially when associated with increased snoring or episodes of sleep apnea.