Intracranial pseudoaneurysms represent a potentially fatal complication of intracranial surgery. Our purpose is to describe their neuroradiological characteristics, prognostic features and possible treatment. Eight cases of postsurgical intracranial pseudoaneurysms have been observed at our institution since 1988. Four were observed following transsphenoidal (TS) surgery and four after pterional craniotomies. Two types of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms were observed: "fusiform", probably due to weakening of the adventitia during surgical peeling of the tumour from the artery (three cases) and "saccular", occurring after a more focal or complete laceration of the vessel (five cases), more often after TS surgery. A thorough preoperative neuroradiological examination may identify anatomical conditions at risk for development of this severe complication. Postoperative neuroradiological follow-up is mandatory in cases in which unusual bleeding has occurred during the perioperative period, but absence of bleeding does not exclude the possible development of a pseudoaneurysm. Endovascular treatment of pseudoaneurysms represents a safe and durable procedure, specifically in those cases in which damage to the carotid siphon occurred during TS surgery.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is characterized by orthostatic headache, low CSF pressure and diffuse pachymeningeal enhancement on brain MRI. SIH results from spontaneous CSF leakage leading to brain sag. Sometimes, tearing of bridging veins may produce subdural hematomas (SDHs). Patients with SDH were identified retrospectively from 212 consecutive SIH patients. Data were collected on demographics, clinical courses, neuroimaging findings, treatment and outcome of SDH. Thirty-five patients (16%), (6 women, 29 men; aged 33-68; mean, 50 years) with SDH were recruited. They were divided into two groups: initially withSIH diagnosed (n = 29) and undiagnosed (n = 6). After conservative treatment, the first group underwent a lumbar epidural blood patch (EBP) (n = 27) and emergent evacuation of symptomatic SDH (n = 2). After EBP, ten patients had enlarged SDH. Nine of them underwent evacuation of symptomatic SDH with mass effect (ME). In the second group, three patients with clinical worsening from SIH underwent, erroneously, evacuation of mild SDH. They worsened after the evacuation; after SIH diagnosis was made, they underwent one EBP (n = 2) and three EBPs (the patient with coma). The other three cases with symptomatic SDH with ME underwent evacuation with recurrence of SDH (n = 2). All 35 patients enjoyed a good outcome. If conservative treatment is insufficient, EBP should be performed prior to hematoma irrigation. When an emergent evacuation is necessary before EBP, it is preferable to perform, after surgery, one early EBP before the patient gets up to prevent frequent recurrences of SDH by underlying CSF leakage.

No abstract

No abstract

Mutations and instability of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are frequent in tumors but their pathogenic relevance is not established. To assess their role in the clinical management of malignant gliomas we have studied the D loop of mtDNA in 42 such tumors. Alterations were found in 36% of the cases. The MRI and the clinical follow-up of these patients suggest that these mutations are not associated with increased aggressiveness. mtDNA could be amplified from post-surgical tumor cavities in patients undergoing a loco-regional treatment. These results imply that mtDNA mutations are unlikely to play a role in diagnostic or prognostic evaluations of gliomas: their detection, however, could be of use for the clinical follow-up of malignant gliomas.