Parathyroid carcinoma, a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism.

A 45 year-old woman who presented with non-specific neck and shoulder pain, was found to have mild hypercalcaemia, markedly elevated parathyroid hormone levels, and an irregular parathyroid gland on imaging. The patient underwent a parathyroidectomy and the pathology report came back positive for parathyroid carcinoma with muscular invasion. Parathyroid carcinoma is an exceptionally rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism and can have a poor prognosis due to metastases and a high propensity to recur after resection. Reports of non-functioning parathyroid carcinomas tend to behave even more aggressively. Repeat imaging on this patient showed residual cancer present, so the patient underwent a second surgery with radical neck dissection and has since been doing very well postoperatively. Diagnosis and treatment is challenging and it is critical to continuously follow-up for recurrent disease.

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma of the tongue in a 17-month-old.

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare and often fatal tumor. Overall survival rates have been reported to be 62% after 5 years, 42% after 10 years, and 18% after 20 years. ASPS accounts for 5% of all pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas other than rhabdomyosarcomas. In children, ASPS rarely occurs in the oral cavity, and to the best of our knowledge, only 12 cases of ASPS of the tongue occurring during the first decade of life have been previously reported in the literature. Because of the rarity of lingual ASPS in children, no specific treatment protocols have been developed, which makes its management difficult. We report a new case of lingual ASPS in a young child. Our patient was a 17-month-old girl whose tumor was located at the base of the tongue. She was successfully treated with surgical excision without adjuvant radiation or chemotherapy. Postoperatively, she has remained disease-free during 4 years of follow-up.

Congenital thoracic cord segmental amyelia: a rare manifestation of segmental spinal dysgenesis.

Segmental spinal dysgenesis (SSD) is a rare congenital abnormality in which a segment of the spine and spinal cord fails to develop properly. We report a case of a 4-year-old female child who was born prematurely with a permanent neurological deficit in the lower limbs and sphincter incontinence. Radiological investigations revealed segmental agenesis of the thoracic spinal cord (D8-D11 vertebral levels) with an associated vertebral bony anomaly. The pathogenesis of this rare form of SSD syndrome is discussed and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.

Cerebellopontine angle epidermoid tumor presenting with 'tic convulsif' and tinnitus--case report.

A 22-year-old female presented with a cerebellopontine angle epidermoid tumor manifesting as a rare combination of hemifacial spasm, trigeminal neuralgia, and tinnitus. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the tumor distorting the brainstem and the fourth ventricle. The tumor was almost completely resected and the seventh-eighth cranial nerve complex was decompressed by mobilizing the anterior inferior cerebellar artery loop. No arterial loop was related to the trigeminal nerve. The patient was completely relieved of the "tic convulsif" and tinnitus after the surgery. The inflammatory nature of epidermoid tumor may be involved in the etiology of the syndrome. Microvascular decompression may be needed in addition to tumor removal in such cases.

Developmental deep venous system anomaly associated with congenital malformation of the brain.

We report a rare case of developmental deep venous system anomaly. The great vein of Galen and the straight sinus were absent. Both internal cerebral veins and the basal veins of Rosenthal drained into a large frontal interhemispheric falcine vein, which eventually drained into the superior sagittal sinus. The patient also had an associated neuronal migration anomaly.