Spinal Glioblastoma Multiforme: Unusual Cause of Post-Traumatic Tetraparesis

Abstract

Background/Objective: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common glial cell tumor of the adult brain. However, primary GBM of the spinal cord is a rare condition.

Methods: Case report.

Results: A young man presented with acute onset quadriparesis after a whiplash injury. A magnetic resonance scan showed the typical appearance of a high-grade intramedullary tumor with fusiform expansion of the entire cervical cord. Subtotal decompression and biopsy was done by posterior laminectomy, followed by external beam radiotherapy. Signs and symptoms improved after the completion of radiotherapy but did not resolve completely. Death caused by respiratory failure occurred 3 months later. Conclusions: This presentation of GBM of the cervical cord is rare; an intramedullary tumor should be considered when minor cervical trauma results in disproportionate neurologic deficit. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of spinal GBM with extensive pan-cervical involvement.     

Spinal cord glioblastoma during pregnancy: Case report

Spinal Cord Glioblastoma Multiforme (SCGBM) is a very rare, debilitating and often fatal tumor. Cases of intracranial GBM during pregnancy have been reported, and as other tumor occurring in this setting, it harbors a great dilemma to attending physicians and families. We report the first case of a SCGBM diagnosed during pregnancy and discuss its management and treatment.     

Spinal intramedullary teratoma with exophytic components: report of two cases and review of the literature

True intramedullary teratoma is an extremely rare tumor, with only seven cases reported in the literature. The authors present two personal cases of spinal intramedullary cystic teratoma of the conus medullaris with exophytic growth and some unusual aspects. Their cases are unusual not only because they were diagnosed by MRI but also because the monitored microsurgical removal of the tumor was apparently total, with excellent results, in clinical and neuroradiologic terms. We recommend early radical surgery whenever possible, when the patient's neurological status is still good. To prevent traumatizing adjacent spinal cord for cases in which the teratoma tightly adheres to the functional neurological tissue of the spinal cord with no cleavage plane, we do not recommend an aggressive surgical attempt. Because of the mostly benign nature of this disease, the symptomatic recurrence of such incompletely resected mature teratomas is slow and may eventually require a second surgical procedure. The relevant literature is also reviewed.     

An Unusual Case of Liver Metastases from Glioblastoma Multiforme Following Radiosurgery

A rare case of isolated liver metastases in a patient with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) treated with surgery, chemotherapy, external beam irradiation, and salvage stereotactic radiosurgery is described. Our review of literature has revealed only 8 other cases of isolated liver metastases in patients with GBM in the last three decades. Recent data suggest that stereotactic radiosurgery may alter the prognosis of specific subsets of patients with GBM. The potential for combined modality therapy, including radiosurgery to impact on the survival of GBM patients, and, hence, the natural history of this disease, is discussed.     

Spinal injuries in the pediatric age group: a review of 82 cases of spinal cord and vertebral column injuries

A review of 82 children with spinal cord and/or vertebral column injury treated in our department between 1968 and 1993 showed that 67% of the patients were boys and the average age was 11.4 years. The cause, vertebral level, and type of injury, and the severity of neurological injury varied with the age of the patient. The cause of pediatric injuries differed from that of adult injuries in that falls were the most common causative factor (56%) followed by vehicular accidents (23%). The most frequent level of spinal injury was in the cervical region (57%, 47 patients) followed by the lumbar region (16.5%, 13 patients). In our series, 18% of the patients had complete injury and the overall mortality rate was 3.6%. Eleven children (13%) had spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA), whereas 39 (47%) had evidence of neurological injury. Although the spinal injury patterns differed between children and adolescents, the outcome was found to be predominantly affected by the type of neurological injury (P<0.05). Children with complete myelopathy uniformly remained with severe neurological dysfunction; children with incomplete myelopathy recovered nearly normal neurological function. Finally, the authors conclude that most spinal injuries can be successfuly managed with nonoperative therapy. The literature is reviewed as to the treatment and outcome of pediatric spinal injuries.     

颈髓挥鞭性损伤误诊分析

颈髓挥鞭性损伤,尤其是颈部症状不明显而又无放射影像异常者,常常易引起误诊。我院自1992年10月至2008年2月所遇初诊误诊患者18例,现对原因分析如下。     

复位内固定治疗脊柱骨折脱位合并脊髓损伤

本文报告1989年3月至1990年1月外院转入我院53例脊柱骨折脱位合并脊髓损伤患者,其中50例曾行手术治疗。结果,复位:向后成角平均20.5°,37例有成角,占70％;椎体移位平均0.5cm,47例有移位,移位率88％。固定:53例中仍存有内固定者18例,有11例内固定失败,占61％。减压:27例做核磁检查,有椎管狭窄脊髓受压者19例占70.4％。我院1981～1989年对32例新鲜脊柱骨折脱位进行复位内固定术。结果,复位:完全复位24例(75％),大部复位6例(19％),部分复位2例(6％)。内固定:无改变29例,3例失败,占9％。通过对比分析,提出充分复位、减压及有效内固定的重要性。     

Spinal radiosurgery: technology and clinical outcomes

The development of computer-based image guidance has allowed stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy to be freed from the constraints imposed by the stereotactic frames once required for intracranial radiosurgery. This freedom has led to the application of radiosurgery to targets outside the brain. In this paper, we briefly review the technologies, treatment parameters, and clinical outcomes of radiosurgical treatment for spinal pathology, including metastatic tumors and rare but challenging lesions such as arteriovenous malformations and benign tumors. A special emphasis is put on the newest development, fiducial-less robotic radiosurgery. Spinal radiosurgery is associated with excellent rates of tumor control and pain relief with a good dose sparing of the highly sensitive spinal cord. Further research is required to optimize treatment strategies and to assess clinical benefits and toxicity in the long term.     

Spinal teratomas: a clinico-pathological study of 27 patients

Background  Spinal cord teratomas are uncommon tumours. The diagnosis is rarely suspected before surgery and final diagnosis is invariably made at histopathological examination. Methods  We retrospectively analysed our neuropathology records for the last 20 years and all patients diagnosed as spinal teratomas were retrieved. The clinical and radiological features were noted. Slides were reviewed and the diagnosis was confirmed. Findings  During a period of 20 years, we found 27 examples of spinal teratomas. There was a wide age range and 37.3% presented in adulthood. Male predominance was observed both in children as well as adults. The dorso-lumbar location was common in children as well as in adults but an intramedullary location, in association with a myelomeningocele and split cord malformation, was more common in children. Twenty one patients had associated features of spinal dysraphism. Of the six who were not associated with this, five were adult patients. Radiologically mixed solid and cystic morphology, fat signal and areas of calcification were seen in one third of patients. All tumours except one showed benign (mature) components. Interestingly, two lesions contained mature renal tissue: one exhibited pulmonary differentiation and one had Wilm’s tumour as a component of the teratoma. In five patients the initial sections showed epidermis with skin adenexal structures and a diagnosis of dermoid cyst was suspected but serial sectioning revealed other teratomatous components. All patients were treated with surgical excision. Conclusion  Although there are no specific features on imaging, mixed solid and cystic morphology, fat signal and areas of calcification are helpful in the pre-operative diagnosis. Most of these lesions are diagnosed on histopathological examination after surgery and therefore thorough sampling and serial sectioning are mandatory to identify all components of the teratoma in order to avoid misdiagnosis.     

脊柱外伤的MRI表现

本文报告了50例急、慢性脊柱外伤病人MRI的检查结果,描述了15例急性期脊髓损伤后水肿和出血的MRI信号改变和35例慢性期脊髓损伤后脊髓囊变、纤维化和脊髓萎缩的MR信号改变。探讨不同MR信号与预后的关系。     

Neurofibromatosis: An Unusual Cause of Cervical Myopathy

Abstract

Generalized neurofibromatosis (NF) is characterized by café au lait spots, deformity of the skeleton and tumors involving the skin as well as spinal, peripheral and cranial nerves. The spine is that part of the skeleton most commonly affected in NF, although involvement of the cervical spine in NF has only rarely been reported. The majority of neurofibromas involving spinal nerves are asymptomatic or present with symptoms consistent with nerve root involvement. Classic symptoms of myelopathy secondary to spinal cord compression in NF are rare. We describe a 35-year-old male with generalized NF who presented with worsening gait instability. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed enhancing masses producing spinal cord compression at the C1-C2 and C4 levels. The patient underwent decompressive laminectomy and, at eight weeks after surgery, was once again ambulatory. The literature discussing the sequelae and treatment of NF when it produces myelopathy is reviewed.     

颈椎损伤与颈脊髓损伤的关系分析

目的分析颈椎损伤与颈脊髓损伤的关系.方法回顾性地分析了265 例颈椎损伤患者,依据Allen分类方法对其颈椎损伤类型进行分类,依据ASIA国际脊髓损伤分级标准对其脊髓损伤情况进行分级,应用统计学软件包对二者的关系进行分析.结果颈椎损伤与颈脊髓损伤之间具有一定的相关性.结论颈脊髓损伤的程度与颈椎损伤的程度之间具有一定的正相关性,根据颈椎损伤的程度可以对颈脊髓损伤的程度作出判定.     

Spinal extradural angiolipoma: report of two cases and review of the literature

Spinal angiolipomas are benign uncommon neoplasm composed of mature lipocytes admixed with abnormal blood vessels. They account for only 0.04–1.2% of all spinal tumors. We report two cases of lumbar extradural angiolipoma and review previously reported cases. We found 118 cases of spinal epidural angiolipoma (70 females and 48 males; age range 1.5–85 years, mean 44.03) spanning from 1890 to 2006. Prior to diagnosis 40.6% of the patients had weakness of the lower limbs. The interval between the initial symptoms and tumor diagnosis ranged from 1 day to 17 years (mean 20.2 months). Except for four cases diagnosed at autopsy, 109 patients underwent surgery and gross-total resection was performed in 79 cases (72.4%). Spinal angiolipomas are tumors containing angiomatous and lipomatous tissue, predominantly located in the mid-thoracic region. All angiolipomas show iso- or hyperintensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintensity on T2-weighted images and most lesions enhance with gadolinium administration. The treatment for spinal extradural angiolipomas is total surgical resection and no adjuvant therapy should be administered.     

脊髓损伤大鼠脊髓组织的病理形态学观察

目的：研究脊髓损伤（SCI）用高压氧（HBO）处理后脊髓的病理学变化。方法：用SD大鼠复制SCI模型，0．1MPa和0．25MPaHBO处理后，取损伤脊髓作HE染色。结果：正常对照组脊髓结构完整，细胞形态正常，分布均匀，胞膜，胞核正常，组织间隙正常，单纯损伤组示组织出血，疏松水肿，细胞空泡变性，神经纤维溶解，消失；处理后，0．25MPaHBO组及0．25MPaHBO＋激素（L，M）组脊髓恢复最明显，组织水肿，细胞空泡变性减轻，细胞形态恢复，结构排列完整，结论：HBO治疗可明显阻止或减轻脊髓损伤的病理变化，有利于脊髓功能的恢复。