11/14. Hemi-dystonia secondary to localised basal ganglia tumour.An 8-year-old boy with an 18 month history of left limb hemi-dystonia due to a right lenticular nucleus astrocytoma originating in the putamen is reported. Subsequent neuropathological study demonstrated that the tumour was mainly localised to the right lenticular nucleus, with cystic necrosis in the infero-lateral putamen. Solid tumour also infiltrated the right hypothalamus, the anterior commisure and the optic chiasm, and there was perivascular spread into the globus pallidus, internal capsule and roof of the right lateral ventricle. This case, and the few other published reports of symptomatic dystonia due to focal brain lesions verified pathologically, indicate that damage to the lenticular nucleus, and to the putamen in particular, can cause limb dystonia in man.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = putamen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
12/14. Biochemical findings in a case of parkinsonism secondary to brain tumor.Neuropathological and biochemical studies were performed in a patient with craniopharyngioma and a long history of parkinsonism. Morphological examination revealed atrophy of the substantia nigra without lewy bodies. Both th caudate and putamen nuclei showed moderate loss of large cells with glial proliferation. There was a notable decrease in dopamine and its metabolites and a reduction in norepinephrine content in both the caudate and putamen nuclei. Less consistent changes were found in serotonin and amino acid levels. dopamine receptors, evaluated as 3H-spiperone binding sites, were unchanged in the putamen but decreased to 30% of control values in the caudate. The findings suggest that parkinsonism was caused by the brain tumor, which damaged both the presynaptic dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons and the postsynaptic dopamine receptors.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = putamen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
13/14. F-Dopa as an amino acid tracer to detect brain tumors.A 57-yr-old woman suffering from light movement disorder of the left arm and hand was referred for 18F-Dopa PET. The PET study not only proved asymmetrically reduced dopamine uptake in the putamen (influx constant Ki right 0.0064/min, left 0.0086) but also revealed pathologically increased 18F-Dopa accumulation in the right frontal lobe. Further PET examinations demonstrated increased 11C-methionine uptake and low glucose metabolism in this right frontal region. MRI and 1H-MRSI showed a heterogeneous lesion with reduced N-acetyl-aspartate and increased choline and lactate, suggesting a mixed, low-grade glioma. In 15O-water studies, during intentional movements of one hand the respective motor areas were identified, indicating asymmetries due to the mass occupying lesion. The tumor could be removed in open surgery, thus sparing the motor areas; a mild postoperative motor deficit resolved to the presurgical state. histology confirmed the diagnosis of a grade 2 oligo-astrocytoma. This case impressively demonstrates that 18F-Dopa can be used as an amino acid tracer for brain tumor detection in addition to its established application to assess aromatic acid decarboxylase activity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = putamen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
14/14. Parkinsonism associated with acute intracranial hematomas: an [18F]dopa positron-emission tomography study.We present the case of a 36-year-old woman with a right temporal hematoma and an overlying subdural hematoma following rupture of a right middle cerebral artery aneurysm. Three weeks after recovering consciousness, she developed a levodopa-responsive parkinsonian syndrome involving the right limbs. A year after the vascular event, she reported subjective improvement in her parkinsonism, which has remained stable since. 18F-dopa positron-emission tomography showed a marked reduction of uptake in the left putamen, raising the possibility that the intracranial hemorrhage unmasked latent Parkinson's disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of parkinsonism associated with spontaneous acute intracerebral and subdural hematomas.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = putamen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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