Irith Reider-Groswasser

The use of β‐subunits of gonadotrophin hormones in the follow‐up of clinically non‐functioning pituitary tumours

Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFA) are mostly of gonadotroph origin. However, increased levels of circulating hormones or subunits in patients with NFA usually do not cause clinical symptoms, nor are they used as biological tumour markers. In this study we assessed the value of measuring β subunits of gonadotrophin hormones in the post‐operative follow‐up of patients bearing these tumours.

Hippocampal memory function as reflected by the intracarotid sodium methohexital Wada test

The intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) determines lateralization of memory function for predicting the risk of amnesia after epilepsy surgery. Shortages of amobarbital led to its substitution with sodium methohexital in the intracarotid methohexital procedure (IMP). We compared IAP scores (32 patients) with IMP scores (20 patients). Wada ipsilateral and contralateral memory scores were analyzed and compared, as was the relationship of these scores to the results of standard neuropsychological memory tests. There was no significant difference in Wada contralateral memory scores (first injection) between the IAP and IMP. Differences between the IAP and IMP in memory scores for the hemisphere ipsilateral to the epileptogenic focus (second injection) were significant (P=0.01), patients who underwent the IMP manifesting a higher ipsilateral memory reserve. IAP scores related better to standard neuropsychological memory test scores than did IMP scores. The anesthetic drug used in Wada testing may affect lateralized memory assessment and prediction of postsurgical memory changes.

Clock drawing test: correlation with linear measurements of CT studies in demented patients

Objectives. To investigate a presumed correlation between clock drawing ratings and linear measurements of computerized tomography (CT) studies in demented patients.

The disappearing lens: failure of CT to image the lens in traumatic intumescent cataract.

The CT scans of three patients whose eyes were lacerated by trauma failed to demonstrate the lens. A slit-lamp examination of those eyes clearly indicated that the lenses were present behind the iris but that they were swollen and opaque (intumescent cataract). Apparently, a shift of water into the injured lens had reduced the expected hyperdense CT image of the lens to a level that it was no longer discernible.

Computerized tomography findings in posterior fossa lesions

In 190 of 7000 brain CT studies performed between April 1978 and September 1984, abnormalities of the posterior fossa were found. Of these, 51.5% were primary tumors, 15.3% metastases, 12.1% vascular lesions and 5.8% congenital or developmental lesions. Frequencies, age and sex distribution and radiologic characteristics of the various posterior fossa pathologies are reviewed and discussed.

An unusual association of tuberous sclerosis and adrenogenital syndrome

Tuberous sclerosis and the adrenogenital syndrome are well known hereditary disorders. The association between endocrine disorders and tuberous sclerosis has been described, but the finding of the adrenogenital syndrome and tuberous sclerosis in one patient has not, to the best of our knowledge, been described. This article is a report on a patient presenting the characteristic findings of both diseases.

Posterior fossa lesions in childhood and infancy

Forty-three children with CT studies demonstrating abnormalities in the posterior fossa are presented. Tumors constitute the largest group of lesions (53.5%). Their mean size at time of diagnosis was 39.5 mm. Astrocytomas, medulloblastomas, and ependymomas were the most frequent tumors and their CT features are described and discussed. The congenital group of lesions comprised 18.6% of the cases — the most frequent anomaly being arachnoid cyst. In the miscellaneous group (23.3%), cases with atrophy were the most frequent. The cerebellar hemispheres were the most involved sites (39.5%). Lesions located at the tentorial hiatus or near the clivus were rather rare.

Assessment of craniocerebral asymmetries in children by computed tomography

Computed tomographic (CT) scans of 32 children (mean age 2.8±2.5 years) with a wide range of craniocerebral asymmetry (CCA) were analyzed. Hemiparesis and epilepsy were the main clinical presentations. Two-thirds of the patients had brain infarcts. The degree of cerebral and ventricular asymmetry was evaluated by ratios obtained by linear measurements. The patients were divided into two groups according to the index of maximal asymmetry. The incidence of hemiparesis and the width of the cerebral ventricles did not differ in the two groups. This may be due to the fact that most of our patients suffered from perinatal insult to the brain, allowing time for remodeling and palstic changes to occur. The use of measurable structural parameters in craniocerebral asymmetry offers a basis for comparable radiological assessment.

Glioma of the anterior optic pathways

A 10-month-old girl presented with visual loss in the right eye associated with bilateral optic atrophy. The suggestive clinical diagnosis was an optic nerve glioma. The computerized tomographic findings were unusual in that symmetric bilateral involvement of the anterior visual pathways were present. The radiological diagnosis of an optic glioma was histologically confirmed.