tailieunhanh - Báo cáo y học: " Difficult diagnosis of brainstem glioblastoma multiforme in a woman: a case report and review of the literature"

Tuyển tập báo cáo các nghiên cứu khoa học quốc tế ngành y học dành cho các bạn tham khảo đề tài: T Difficult diagnosis of brainstem glioblastoma multiforme in a woman: a case report and review of the literature | Journal of Medical Case Reports BioMed Central Open Access Case report Difficult diagnosis of brainstem glioblastoma multiforme in a woman a case report and review of the literature Shaheen E Lakhan and Lindsey Harle Address Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation Los Angeles CA USA Email Shaheen E Lakhan - slakhan@ Lindsey Harle - lharle@ Corresponding author Published 30 October 2009 Received 7 April 2008 Journal of Medical Case Reports 2009 3 87 doi 1752-1947-3-87 Accepted 30 October 2009 This article is available from http content 3 1 87 2009 Lakhan and Harle licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http licenses by which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Introduction Brainstem gliomas are rare in adults. They most commonly occur in the pons and are most likely to be high-grade lesions. The diagnosis of a high-grade brainstem glioma is usually reached due to the presentation of rapidly progressing brainstem cranial nerve and cerebellar symptoms. These symptoms do however overlap with a variety of other central nervous system disorders. Magnetic resonance imaging is the radiographic modality of choice but can still be misleading. Case presentation A 48-year-old Caucasian woman presented with headache and vomiting followed by cerebellar signs and confusion. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were suggestive of a demyelinating process but the patient failed to respond to therapy. Her condition rapidly progressed and she died. At autopsy a high-grade invasive pontine tumor was identified. Histological evaluation revealed glioblastoma multiforme. Conclusion While pontine gliomas are rare in adults those that do occur tend to be high-grade and rapidly progressive. Progression of symptoms from non-specific .