RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Chordoid glioma is a rare low-grade brain tumor originating from the anterior wall of the third ventricle. CASE PRESENTATION: A 13-year-old female with progressive intermittent holocranial headaches and a diagnosis of chordoid glioma underwent tumor resection in our neuro-oncology unit. DISCUSSION: We review all 79 cases of chordoid glioma reported in the literature so far, focusing on the diagnostic criteria, treatment options and prognosis. CONCLUSION: Efficient treatment of chordoid glioma depends upon radical surgical resection. Based on the reviewed data, which showed high morbi-mortality rates for this kind of tumor, we recommend a more conservative treatment approach.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) is a rare phenomenon, probably related to transsynaptic degeneration of the inferior olivary nucleus. It usually occurs as a response to primary injury of dento-rubro-olivary pathways. CASE REPORT: A young man developed Holmes' tremor 7 months after a cavernous malformation bleed in the midbrain. Typical findings of HOD were observed in the magnetic resonance images: bilateral and asymmetric hypertrophy of the olivary nucleus with slight hypersignal in T2-weighted images. Because of the striking disability related to drug-resistant tremor, the patient underwent stereotactic thalamotomy (nucleus ventralis intermedius of the thalamus/zona incerta) with pronounced functional improvement over time. DISCUSSION: Disruption of circuits in the Guillain-Mollaret triangle classically results in palatal myoclonus, however midbrain (Holmes') tremor can also occur, as we now describe.