We describe a patient with idiopathic arterial calcification of infancy and the following unusual features of the disease: (1) prolonged survival until age 11 years, (2) discordance between the extent of vascular calcification and clinical manifestations of arterial luminal occlusion, (3) a large area of myocardial calcification, (4) symptoms of cerebral-vascular insufficiency, and (5) spontaneous resolution of hypertension.

From 1974 to 1984, nine patients with suprasellar germinoma were treated with megavoltage radiation therapy. The entire craniospinal axis was irradiated in all patients, with median doses of 45.6 Gy, 31.6 Gy, and 25.2 Gy delivered to the tumor volume, whole brain, and spinal cord, respectively. Two patients have died (14, 11.5 months) without evidence of tumor: one of uncontrolled endocrine dysfunction due to patient noncompliance, the other of hyperosmolar coma. There have been no tumor recurrences with a median 68-month follow-up among seven survivors. The dose usually recommended for treatment of intracranial germinoma is 50-55 Gy. Our data suggest that 45 Gy may be sufficient, if treatment volume is adequate. Posttherapy endocrine testing is also essential.

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