No abstract

The ability to treat tumors arising within the CNS is difficult because of the nature of the anatomic confines of the brain and a microenvironment that may not promote immune responsiveness. These studies describe an in vivo bioluminescent imaging system to monitor CNS tumor growth in mice, which we successfully used to document decreased intracranial tumor progression and size after vaccination with rLM-NP/TRP-2. The results suggest that metastatic tumors in the CNS can be targeted immunotherapeutically without overt autoimmune toxicity.

This study suggests that rapid transsphenoidal surgery is effective to recover the visual impairment in patients with pituitary apoplexy. If there are associated abnormalities of visual acuity or visual fields in patients with hemorrhagic pituitary apoplexy, early neurosurgical intervention within 48 hours should be also required to recover visual impairment.

P urpose: P eritumoral brain edema (P TBE ) is a serious causative factor that contributes the morbidity or mortality of brain tumors. The development of P TBE is influenced by many factors, including such tight junction proteins as occludin. W e evaluated the P TBE volume and survival time with respect to the occludin expression in various pathological types of brain tumors.M aterials and M ethods: Fresh-frozen specimens from sixty patients who had brain tumors were obtained during surgery and the tumors were confirmed pathologically. The occludin expression was investigated by W estern blot analysis. The P TBE volume was measured by using preoperative magnetic resonance (M R ) imaging, and the survival time in each patient was estimated retrospectively.

Supratentorial dermoid cysts are uncommon to develop in the cavernous sinus. We present a ruptured dermoid cyst of the cavernous sinus extending into the posterior fossa. The patient was a 32-year-old female who complained occipital headache, blurred vision, and tinnitus over 4 years. Brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed an enhanced tumor in the right cavernous sinus extending into the right temporal base and the posterior fossa with findings of ruptured cyst. Surgical resection was performed, and pathological findings were confirmed to be a dermoid cyst. We report a second case with ruptured dermoid cyst of the cavernous sinus extending into the posterior fossa.