A rare case of cerebellar glioblastoma multiforme in childhood: MR imaging

Glioblastoma multiforme is a highly malignant brain neoplasm that is very rarely discovered in childhood but accounts for approximately 17% of intracranial tumors in the adult. Only approximately 25 children with glioblastoma multiforme in the cerebellum have been described in the literature. We report on a 4 1/2-year-old girl with this tumor in the cerebellar hemisphere and discuss the magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Gangliocytoma of the cervicothoracic spinal cord

We present a case of an extensive cervicothoracic gangliocytoma in an asymptomatic 9-year-old boy with progressive scoliosis. MR findings were that of a moderately enhancing cervicothoracic intramedullary mass, which throughout most of its length could not be distinguished from the normal spinal cord.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy: a case of simultaneous upper respiratory tract and CNS disease without lymphadenopathy

The authors describe a 20-year-old man who initially developed an intradural mass in the upper cervical region and subsequently presented with nasal/paranasal sinus and posterior fossa masses, well demonstrated by CT and MR. Histopathology demonstrated dense fibrous tissue, aggregates of histiocytes with round to oval vesicular nuclei, and other features diagnostic of Rosai-Dorfman disease; a right nasal biopsy prior to surgery showed similar microscopic findings.

Basic fibroblast growth factor in Alzheimer's disease

We have examined the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in normal and in Alzheimer brains, studied the distribution of the mitogen by immunohistochemical techniques, measured the quantities of growth factor in selected areas of the brain (Brodmann areas 10/11 and 20/21), characterized the molecular forms by Western blotting and determined its sites of synthesis by in situ hybridization. Although the same molecular forms of basic FGF are found in control and Alzheimer brains, basic FGF is increased in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Furthermore, basic FGF is not distributed in an identical fashion to normal and Alzheimer brains, but is found in association with the lesions that characterize this disease. In normal controls (n = 5), basic FGF was found to be widely distributed throughout the three brain regions examined (prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus). Immunoreactivity was observed within astrocytes in both the grey and white matter, as well as within neuronal perikarya. Brain tissues that were obtained from Alzheimer patients (N = 4) showed a substantial increase in the overall specific staining of astrocytes and neurons, particularly in areas of reactive gliosis. Focal concentration of immunoreactive basic FGF was evident within the neuritic plaques, and could be clearly seen in association with the neurofibrillary tangles present within neuronal perikarya. The possibility that basic FGF expression in the CNS is linked to the pathogenesis of the disease is discussed.