Masson's tumor of the pineal region: case report.

Intracranial intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH), also referred to as Masson's tumor, is a condition that rarely occurs in the nervous system. IPEH most frequently occurs extracranially in the skin of the face, skull, neck, and trunk and can easily be mistaken clinically, radiologically, and histologically for angiosarcoma, organizing hematoma, or other vascular malformations. IPEH accounts for roughly 2% of all vascular tumors and is extremely rare intracranially, with only 23 reported cases compared with more than 300 cases of IPEH occurring in the skin and subcutaneous tissue. To date, it has never been reported to occur in the pineal region. The authors report the case of a patient with an IPEH in the pineal region who underwent complex resection and experienced reversal of neurological symptoms.

Cognard Type V intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula presenting in a pediatric patient with rapid, progressive myelopathy.

Cognard Type V dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) are a unique type of cranial vascular malformation characterized by congestion of the perimedullary venous system that may lead to devastating spinal cord pathology if left untreated. The authors present the first known case of a pediatric patient diagnosed with a Type V dAVF. A 14-year-old girl presented with a 3-week history of slowly progressive unilateral leg weakness that quickly progressed to bilateral leg paralysis, sphincter dysfunction, and complete sensory loss the day of her presentation. MRI revealed an extensive T2 signal change in the cervical spine and tortuous perimedullary veins along the entire length of the cord. An emergency cranial angiogram showed a Type V dAVF fed by the posterior meningeal artery with drainage into the perimedullary veins of the cervical spine. The fistula was not amenable to embolization because vascular access was difficult; therefore, the patient underwent urgent suboccipital craniotomy and ligation of the arterialized venous drainage from the fistula. The patient's clinical course immediately reversed; she had a complete recovery over the course of a year, and she remains asymptomatic at the 2-year follow-up. This report adds to a growing body of evidence that describes the diverse and unpredictable nature of Type V dAVFs and highlights the need to obtain a cranial angiogram in pediatric patients with unexplained myelopathy and cervical cord T2 signal change on MRI.

Correlation between time to diagnosis and rehabilitation outcomes in patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistula.

BACKGROUND: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) are the most common spinal vascular malformations and can be a significant cause of myelopathy although they are under diagnosed. Surgical or embolization treatment of SDAVFs improved significantly in the last decade. However, a high percentage of patients are still left with severe disability. OBJECTIVE: To describe the correlation between time to diagnosis and the rehabilitation outcomes of eight patients with SDAVFs. DESIGN: Retrospective chart study of all SDAVF patients in 20 years. SETTING: A tertiary university rehabilitation center. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The lower extremities motor score (LEMS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) and Walking Scale for Spinal Cord Injury (WISC II). Overall prognosis was evaluated using the Aminoff-Logue scale (ALS). RESULTS: There were seven men and one woman with mean age of 61.3 ± 15 (30-72) and mean time until the diagnosis of SDAVF of 265.5 ± 245 days (4-730). At the end of rehabilitation period, five of the eight patients remained wheelchair dependent. Strong correlation was found between LEMS, FIM, SCIM, and WISC II scores and the functional level according to the ALS scale. A significant correlation was found between time to diagnosis and the height of the SDAVF, the clinical and rehabilitation outcomes. Patients with high SDAVF which were diagnosed late had the poorest prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: The potential for functional ambulation in patients with SDAVF is related to the time of intervention. This finding emphasizes the important of early diagnosis and early intervention in SDAVF.