Metastatic melanoma simulating subdural hematoma

1978 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. John Palmer ◽  
Anthony P. Poulgrain

✓ Metastatic melanoma tends to be found in subcortical white matter and this localization may produce clinical or radiological features that are unusual in metastatic disease. A case is described that closely simulated a subdural hematoma both clinically and radiologically.

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 498-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cole A. Giller ◽  
Maureen Johns ◽  
Hanli Liu

✓ Localization of targets during stereotactic surgery is frequently accomplished by identification of the boundaries between the gray matter of various nuclei and the surrounding white matter. The authors describe an intracranial probe developed for this purpose, which uses near-infrared (NIR) light.The probe fits through standard stereotactic holders and emits light at its tip. The scattered light is detected and analyzed by a spectrometer, with the slope of the trailing portion of the reflectance curve used as the measurement value.Near-infrared readings were obtained during 27 neurosurgical procedures. The first three operations were temporal lobectomies, with values obtained from tracks in the resected specimen and resection bed. In the next five procedures, the probe was inserted stereotactically to a depth of 1 to 2 cm with measurements obtained every 1 mm. The probe was then used in 19 stereotactic procedures for movement disorders, obtaining measurements every 0.5 to 1 mm to target depths of 6 to 8 cm to interrogate subcortical structures. The NIR signals were correlated to distances beneath the cortical surface measured on postoperative computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging by using angle correction and three-dimensional reconstruction techniques.The NIR values for white and gray matter obtained during the lobectomies were significantly different (white matter 2.5 ± 0.37, gray matter 0.82 ± 0.23 mean ± standard deviation). The NIR values from the superficial stereotactic tracks showed initial low values corresponding to cortical gray matter and high values corresponding to subcortical white matter.There was good correlation between the NIR signals and postoperative imaging in the 19 stereotactic cases. Dips due to adjacent sulci, a plateau of high signal due to subcortical white matter, a dip in the NIR signal during passage through the ventricle, dips due to the caudate nucleus, and peaks due to the white matter capsule between ventricle and thalamus were constant features. The putamen—capsule boundary and the lamina externa and interna of the globus pallidus could be distinguished in three cases. Elevated signals corresponding to the thalamic floor were seen in 10 cases. Nuances such as prior lesions and nonspecific white matter changes were also detected. There was no incidence of morbidity associated with use of the probe. Data acquisition was straightforward and the equipment required for the studies was inexpensive.The NIR probe described in this article seems to be able to detect gray—white matter boundaries around and within subcortical structures commonly encountered in stereotactic functional neurosurgery. This simple, inexpensive method deserves further study to establish its efficacy for stereotactic localization.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 1447-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farideh Nejat ◽  
Behzad Eftekhar

✓ This 9-year-old girl with rapidly progressive cerebral demyelinating disease presented with hemiplegia and intracranial hypertension. Brain images revealed four lesions with mass effect in the subcortical white matter of both hemispheres. Demyelination was found on pathological studies of these lesions. The patient experienced some recovery with corticosteroid treatment but improved completely with decompressive aspiration of the largest lesion.


1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 975-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl W. Swann ◽  
Allan H. Ropper ◽  
Paul F. J. New ◽  
Charles E. Poletti

✓ Two patients with spontaneous spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage are presented to emphasize the clinical and radiological features of this uncommon illness. Both had severe back pain at the onset. One patient had a subdural hematoma that compressed the conus medullaris and cauda equina, and was drained percutaneously; the other had clots in the subarachnoid space. The cerebrospinal fluid showed a polymorphonuclear pleocytosis that simulated septic meningitis. Complete spinal angiography failed to reveal a cause for the hemorrhages.


1985 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Bell ◽  
Lindsay Symon ◽  
Neil M. Branston

✓ Ischemic cerebral edema has been studied in 41 baboons, with regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) determined by hydrogen clearance, and edema measured by microgravimetry. A threshold of ischemia has been identified for baboon cortex and subcortical white matter, which has to be crossed before edema formation begins. This threshold is 40.5% of normal CBF in cortex, and 34.4% of normal flow in subcortical white matter. A time threshold has also been determined, and the baboon brain can withstand 30 minutes of ischemia of the middle cerebral artery without significant edema formation. Reperfusion of ischemic brain has no effect on tissue water if the ischemic flow and time thresholds have not been crossed. Reperfusion of cortex, where water has begun to accumulate, exacerbates the water accumulation in proportion to the extent of the reperfusion. If these results are applicable to man, restoration of flow should not be attempted after an ischemic insult that reduces flow to less than 40% of normal unless it can be accomplished within 30 minutes of the insult. Provided CBF can be restored to above the 40% threshold within 30 minutes, reversal of the neurological deficit and prevention of ischemic edema can be expected.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 494-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gonzalez-martinez ◽  
Laura Hernandez ◽  
Lucia Zamorano ◽  
Andrew Sloan ◽  
Kenneth Levin ◽  
...  

Object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the effectiveness of stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial metastatic melanoma and to identify prognostic factors related to tumor control and survival that might be helpful in determining appropriate therapy. Methods. Twenty-four patients with intracranial metastases (115 lesions) metastatic from melanoma underwent radiosurgery. In 14 patients (58.3%) whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) was performed, and in 12 (50%) chemotherapy was conducted before radiosurgery. The median tumor volume was 4 cm3 (range 1–15 cm3). The mean dose was 16.4 Gy (range 13–20 Gy) prescribed to the 50% isodose at the tumor margin. All cases were categorized according to the Recursive Partitioning Analysis classification for brain metastases. Univariate and multivariate analyses of survival were performed to determine significant prognostic factors affecting survival. The mean survival was 5.5 months after radiosurgery. The analyses revealed no difference in terms of survival between patients who underwent WBRT or chemotherapy and those who did not. A significant difference (p < 0.05) in mean survival was observed between patients receiving immunotherapy or those with a Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score of greater than 90. Conclusions. The treatment with systemic immunotherapy and a KPS score greater than 90 were factors associated with a better prognosis. Radiosurgery for melanoma-related brain metastases appears to be an effective treatment associated with few complications.


1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fong Y. Tsai ◽  
James E. Huprich ◽  
Hervey D. Segall ◽  
James S. Teal

✓ The authors review 29 cases of surgically-proven isodense subdural hematomas examined by non-contrast and contrast-enhanced computerized tomography scans. Three types of isodense collections were noted: homogeneous isodense collections, mixed-density collections, and gravitational layering within subdural collections. Contrast enhancement within the cerebral cortex, cortical vessels, and subdural membranes led to the correct diagnosis in each case. Contrast-enhanced scans are essential for the evaluation of isodense subdural hematomas.


1982 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A. Shenkin

✓ In a consecutive series of 39 cases of acute subdural hematoma (SDH), encountered since computerized tomography diagnosis became available, 61.5% were found to be the result of bleeding from a small cortical artery, 25.6% were of venous origin, 7.7% resulted from cerebral contusions, and 5% were acute bleeds into chronic subdural hematomas. Craniotomy was performed promptly on admission, but there was no difference in survival (overall 51.3%) between patients with arterial and venous bleeds. The only apparent factor affecting survival in this series was the preoperative neurological status: 67% of patients who were decerebrate and had fixed pupils prior to operation died. Of patients with less severe neurological dysfunction, only 20% failed to survive.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth R. Wagner ◽  
Guohua Xi ◽  
Ya Hua ◽  
Marla Kleinholz ◽  
Gabrielle M. de Courten-Myers ◽  
...  

Object. The authors previously demonstrated, in a large-animal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) model, that markedly edematous (“translucent”) white matter regions (> 10% increases in water contents) containing high levels of clotderived plasma proteins rapidly develop adjacent to hematomas. The goal of the present study was to determine the concentrations of high-energy phosphate, carbohydrate substrate, and lactate in these and other perihematomal white and gray matter regions during the early hours following experimental ICH. Methods. The authors infused autologous blood (1.7 ml) into frontal lobe white matter in a physiologically controlled model in pigs (weighing approximately 7 kg each) and froze their brains in situ at 1, 3, 5, or 8 hours postinfusion. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), phosphocreatine (PCr), glycogen, glucose, lactate, and water contents were then measured in white and gray matter located ipsi- and contralateral to the hematomas, and metabolite concentrations in edematous brain regions were corrected for dilution. In markedly edematous white matter, glycogen and glucose concentrations increased two- to fivefold compared with control during 8 hours postinfusion. Similarly, PCr levels increased several-fold by 5 hours, whereas, except for a moderate decrease at 1 hour, ATP remained unchanged. Lactate was markedly increased (approximately 20 µmol/g) at all times. In gyral gray matter overlying the hematoma, water contents and glycogen levels were significantly increased at 5 and 8 hours, whereas lactate levels were increased two- to fourfold at all times. Conclusions. These results, which demonstrate normal to increased high-energy phosphate and carbohydrate substrate concentrations in edematous perihematomal regions during the early hours following ICH, are qualitatively similar to findings in other brain injury models in which a reduction in metabolic rate develops. Because an energy deficit is not present, lactate accumulation in edematous white matter is not caused by stimulated anaerobic glycolysis. Instead, because glutamate concentrations in the blood entering the brain's extracellular space during ICH are several-fold higher than normal levels, the authors speculate, on the basis of work reported by Pellerin and Magistretti, that glutamate uptake by astrocytes leads to enhanced aerobic glycolysis and lactate is generated at a rate that exceeds utilization.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 686-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinya Mandai ◽  
Masaru Sakurai ◽  
Yuzo Matsumoto

✓ The authors present a case of refractory chronic subdural hematoma (CSH) in a 59-year-old man with coagulopathy due to liver cirrhosis. The patient was successfully treated by embolization of the middle meningeal artery after several drainage procedures. This new therapeutic approach to recurrent CSH is discussed.


1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jusuke Ito ◽  
Komei Ueki ◽  
Hisayuki Ishikawa

✓ Carotid angiography of a patient with suspected subdural hematoma showed extravasation of the contrast medium from an ascending branch of the middle cerebral artery. The leak was verified at operation. There was no visual evidence of an aneurysm, angioma, subarachnoid or subpial hemorrhage.


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