Septum Pellucidum Cavernoma: A Case Report and Anatomical Consideration of an Extremely Rare Lesion.

Cavernous angiomas (cavernomas) are vascular malformations of the brain characterized by abnormal capillaries. Ventricular cavernomas are considered rare; however, an extremely unusual topography is the septum pellucidum, with only five reported cases in the English literature. These malformations may rupture and cause very large hematomas, leading to neurological impairment. Cavernomas can be familial or sporadic; additionally, these may appear following brain radiotherapy in extremely rare cases. Herein, we present an extremely rare and unique case of a septum pellucidum cavernoma that occurred in a young male who had previously undergone brain radiotherapy in childhood due to acute lymphoid leukemia. Following presentation, he was diagnosed with generalized seizures. The cavernoma was resected via an anterior interhemispheric transcallosal approach, following which the patient remained stable without neurological sequelae. To conclude, ventricular cavernomas are rare lesions, especially when located at the septum pellucidum, thus constitute a challenging neurosurgical approach.

Anterior and posterior complexes: a step towards improving neurosonographic screening of midline and cortical anomalies.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the anatomical structures that form the anterior (AC) and posterior (PC) complexes of the fetal brain and to categorize their anomalies in fetuses with cerebral abnormalities. METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively volume datasets from 100 normal fetuses between 20 and 30 weeks' gestation. On the axial transventricular plane, our analysis of the AC included the interhemispheric fissure (IHF), the callosal sulcus (CS), the genu of the corpus callosum (CC), the cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) and the anterior horns (AH) of the lateral ventricles. The PC included the splenium of the CC, the medial wall of the lateral ventricles, the CS and the parieto-occipital fissure (POF). We then categorized AC/PC findings in 32 fetuses with agenesis of the septi pellucidi, schizencephaly, callosal dysgenesis, cortical malformation and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. RESULTS: The structures forming the AC and PC were visible in 100% and 92%, respectively, of normal cases. In the AC, the CSP was square-shaped in 73% of cases and it was triangular in 27%; the AH was comma-shaped in 92% of cases and triangular in the remainder. In the PC, the splenium of the CC interrupted and bridged the midline and was delimited posteriorly by the CS and the IHF. The POF was visible posteriorly. We categorized AC and PC abnormalities according to the main deviation from normality in their anatomical structures. The AC was abnormal in 30/32 cases and the PC was abnormal in 16/32 cases. In the two cases with normal AC, the PC was abnormal. CONCLUSION: Normal appearance of AC and PC seems to be a strong indicator of fetal central nervous system normality. Morphological abnormalities in both complexes are robust markers of midline defects, but not exclusively so. The majority of fetuses with cortical malformations showed a defect in the AC.

Longitudinal follow-up of cavum septum pellucidum and adhesio interthalamica alterations in first-episode psychosis: a population-based MRI study.

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental alterations have been described inconsistently in psychosis probably because of lack of standardization among studies. The aim of this study was to conduct the first longitudinal and population-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of the presence and size of the cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) and adhesio interthalamica (AI) in a large sample of patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHOD: FEP patients (n=122) were subdivided into schizophrenia (n=62), mood disorders (n=46) and other psychosis (n=14) groups and compared to 94 healthy next-door neighbour controls. After 13 months, 80 FEP patients and 52 controls underwent a second MRI examination. RESULTS: We found significant reductions in the AI length in schizophrenia FEP in comparison with the mood disorders and control subgroups (longer length) at the baseline assessment, and no differences in any measure of the CSP. By contrast, there was a diagnosis×time interaction for the CSP length, with a more prominent increase for this measure in the psychosis group. There was an involution of the AI length over time for all groups but no diagnosis×time interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the CSP per se may not be linked to the neurobiology of emerging psychotic disorders, although it might be related to the progression of the disease. However, the fact that the AI length was shown to be shorter at the onset of the disorder supports the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia and indicates that an alteration in this grey matter junction may be a risk factor for developing psychosis.

Are cavum septum pellucidum abnormalities more common in schizophrenia spectrum disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have reported a variety of brain abnormalities in association with schizophrenia. These include a higher incidence of cavum septum pellucidum (CSP), which is consistent with a neurodevelopmental model for this disorder. In this meta-analytic review, we describe and discuss the main CSP MRI findings in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) to date. We adopted as keywords cavum and schizophrenia or psychosis, and the inclusion criteria were articles in English, with samples of SSD patients compared to healthy subjects, which used MRI to assess CSP, without time limit. From 18 potential reports, fifteen were eligible to be part of the current review. These studies included 1054 patients with SSD and 866 healthy volunteers. Six out of 15 studies pointed to a higher prevalence of CSP of any size in SSD patients, while five out of 15 showed that subjects with SSD had a greater occurrence of a large CSP than healthy individuals. However, the meta-analysis demonstrated that only the incidence of a large CSP was significantly higher in SSD relative to healthy comparisons (odds ratio=1.59; 95%CI 1.07-2.38; p=0.02). Overall our results suggest that only a large CSP is associated with SSD while a small CSP may be considered a normal neuroanatomical variation. Our review revealed a large degree of variability in the methods employed across the MRI studies published to date, as well as evidence of publication bias. Studies in large, community-based samples with greater standardization of methods should clarify the true significance of CSP in SSD.

Cavum septum pellucidum and adhesio interthalamica in schizophrenia: an MRI study.

Several studies have independently suggested that patients with schizophrenia are more likely to have an enlarged cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) and an absent adhesio interthalamica (AI), respectively. However, neither finding has been consistently replicated and it is unclear whether there is an association between these two midline brain abnormalities. Thus, we compared the prevalence of absent AI and the prevalence, size and volume of CSP in 38 patients with schizophrenia and 38 healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). There were no between group differences in the presence or volume of CSP; however, an enlarged CSP was commoner among patients than controls. There was also a positive correlation between CSP ratings and volumes. No differences in the presence or absence of the AI were found between patients and controls; however, an absent AI was commoner in male patients with schizophrenia than females. There was absolutely no overlap between the presence of a large CSP and an absence of AI. In conclusion, our findings are in line with several case series and other MRI investigations that have shown a higher incidence of putatively developmental brain abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia, particularly in males, and support the neurodevelopmental model of this disorder.

Cleft cavum of the septum pellucidum in victims of fatal road traffic accidents: a distinct type of cavum associated with severe diffuse axonal injury.

BACKGROUND: The cavum of the septum pellucidum (CSP) is a small cavity constantly present in fetuses and newborns, of variable frequency among necropsied adults and with a high frequency in professional boxers. METHOD: A pathologic study was conducted on brains of 626 patients without a history of head trauma (group 1) autopsied consecutively from a general hospital and of 120 random victims of fatal road traffic accidents (group 2). RESULTS: In group 1, 237 (37.9%) cases of CSP were observed, virtually all in a triangular or trapezoidal shape. In group 2, 65 (54.2%) cases of CSP were observed, 50 (76.9%) in triangular or trapezoidal shape and 15 (23.1%) in cleft shape. Cleft CSP was always associated with severe diffuse axonal injury (grades 2 and 3). CONCLUSION: Although described in boxers, the CSP has not been reported in other types of head injury. The largest frequency of CSP found in fatal victims of head trauma, particularly in patients with severe diffuse axonal lesion (grades 2 and 3), when compared with the individuals without a history of head trauma, suggests that the high-intensity angular acceleration of the head causes complementary and independent displacement of the 2 cerebral hemispheres and dislocation of one of the leaves of the septum pellucidum on the other. This could result in separation of the 2 leaves and formation of CSP, usually in cleft shape.

Dilatación del cavum Vergae en el feto: dos casos clínicos y revisión de la literatura / Dilated cavum Vergae in the fetus: two clinical cases and literature review

Comunicamos el diagnóstico prenatal de dos casos de dilatación del cavum Vergae. También revisamos la literatura acerca de lesiones anecogénicas intracerebrales supratentoriales interhemisféricas, con el propósito de establecer criterios de diagnóstico diferencial antenatal y determinar su pronóstico.

Septo-optic dysplasia: case report

The clinical triad of septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) comprises the abscence of the septum pellucidum, congenital optic nerve dysplasia, and multiple endocrine disorders. When any two of these factors are present, the condition is defined as an imcomplete form of SOD. The authors report the case of an imcomplete form of SOD in a 9-year old boy with low vision and nystagmus present from birth. The bilateral ophthalmoscopic examination revealed small papillae with double countour images. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hypoplasia of the optic nerve bilaterally, chiasm and absence of the septum pellucidum.

The size and prevalence of the cavum septum pellucidum are normal in subjects with panic disorder.

Panic disorder is thought to involve dysfunction in the septohippocampal system, and the presence of a cavum septum pellucidum might indicate the aberrant development of this system. We compared the prevalence and size of cavum septum pellucidum in 21 patients with panic disorder and in 21 healthy controls by magnetic resonance imaging. The length of the cavum septum pellucidum was measured by counting the number of consecutive 1-mm coronal slices in which it appeared. A cavum septum pellucidum of >6 mm in length was rated as large. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients (16 of 21 or 76.2%) and controls (18 of 21 or 85.7%) with a cavum septum pellucidum (P=0.35, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed), and no members of either group had a large cavum septum pellucidum. The mean cavum septum pellucidum rating in the patient and control groups was 1.81 (SD=1.50) and 2.09 (SD=1.51), respectively. There were also no significant differences between groups when we analyzed cavum septum pellucidum ratings as a continuous variable (U=196.5; P=0.54). Across all subjects there was a trend towards a higher prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum in males (100%, 10 of 10) than females (75%, 24 of 32; P=0.09, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed). Thus, we conclude that, while panic disorder may involve septo-hippocampal dysfunction, it is not associated with an increased prevalence or size of the cavum septum pellucidum.

Acesso endoscópico transepto-interforniceal para cistos colóides: relato de caso / Endoscopic transepto-interforniceal approach to colloid cysts: case report

A abordagem endoscópica de cistos colóides ainda é matéria controversa. As opçoes de tratamento sao variadas: observaçao com exames seriados, tratamento da hidrocefalia, aspiraçao por estereotaxia, microcirurgia e endoscopia. O autor relata o caso de um paciente com cisto colóide do terceiro ventrículo, localizado em posiçao retroforaminal, no teto diencefálico, dissecando os dois fornices projetando-se supero-posteriormente em direçao ao assoalho do ventrículo lateral, por dentro do cavum do septo pelúcido. A lesao foi alcançada com neuroendoscópio rígido, através de um orifício de trépano pré-coronal situado a 2,5 cm da linha média (ponto de Kocher). Seguindo por via transventricular, a lâmina direita do septo pelúcido foi aberta, posterior à veia septal. A lesao, muito endurecida, situada entre os dois fórnices, foi parcialmente ressecada através da via endoscópica transventricular transepto-interforniceal. Realizamos também septostomia e terceiro ventriculostomia endoscópicas neste paciente. Os diferentes tipos de procedimentos cirúrgicos das patologias situadas no terceiro ventrículo sao discutidos com ênfase no papel da endoscopia

Effect of electrolytic and chemical lesion by ibotenic acid of the septal area on water and salt intake.

Water and sodium chloride intake was studied in male Holtzman rats weighing 250-300 g that had been subjected to electrolytic and chemical lesions of the septal area (SA). Water intake increased in animals with electrolytic lesion of the SA bilaterally from 169.37+/-8.55 (sham) to 214.87+/-23.10 ml/5 days (lesioned). Water intake decreased after ibotenic acid lesion of the SA from 229.33+/-27.60 to 127.33+/-22.84 ml/5 days. Sodium chloride intake (1.5%) increased in animals with electrolytic lesion of the SA from 10.0+/-1.73 to 15.5+/-1.95 ml/5 days after lesion. Also sodium chloride (1.5%) intake increased after ibotenic acid injection into the SA to a greater extent (from 7.83+/-1.25 to 14.33+/-1.87 ml/5 days). The results indicate that the water intake response may be due to lesions that involve cell bodies and fibers of passage and that the sodium intake response can also be induced by lesions which involve only cell bodies. Finally, these results led us to conclude that the SA uses its cell bodies and afferent bodies and fibers for processing inputs mediating water intake and salt appetite and that the cells bodies of the SA are implicated in increased water intake.

Displasia Septo-optica (Síndrome de Morsier): A propósito de un caso / Septo-optic dysplasia (Morsier's syndrome): Apropos of a case

Lactante menor, sexo femenino, con asociación de anomalías congénitas que incluyeron hipoplasia bilateral del nervio óptico, agenesia del septum pellucidum y diábetes insípida central, entre otras manifestaciones menores. La agenesia del septum pellucidum demostrada por resonancia magnética cerebral, así como la hipoplasia del nervio óptico por fondo de ojo. Manifestaciones renales, en particular las derivadas de la diábetes insípida respondieron con la Lisina-Vasopresina, desapareciendo el cuadro de emenis persistente y acidosis sistémica. La valoración pediátrica evidenció un retraso psicomotor y déficit pondoestatural significativos. Paciente cumple en la actualidad con sus controles especializados