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The results of our study showed the alteration of Doppler parameters of cerebral circulation in newborns with hydrocephalus before the drainage procedure. The successful drainage operation leads to the improvement of haemodynamic parameters of cerebral circulation. However, the statistical analysis showed the influence of some intracranial factors-the asymmetry of dilatation of lateral cerebral ventricles and periventricular haemorrhagic lesions on the Doppler parameters of cerebral circulation.

Tumors of the brain are very diverse in their biological behavior and are therefore considered a major issue in modern medicine. The heterogeneity of gliomas, their clinical presentation and their responses to treatment makes this type of tumor a challenging area of research. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common, and biologically the most aggressive, primary brain tumor in adults. The standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed GBM consists of surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, resistance to chemotherapy is a major obstacle to successful treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the changes occurring in the expression levels of apoptosis-associated genes in tumor tissue biopsy samples from 7 patients diagnosed with GBM and compare our results with a human astrocyte cell line (used as a reference) cultured under basic conditions. For molecular analysis, we used a commercial pre-designed microfluidic array to quantify the expression of 93 apoptosis-associated human genes. Significant changes in the expression levels of genes were observed in the tumor tissue samples obtained from patients with GBM. We determined significant changes in gene expression (n=32) in all apoptotic signaling pathways (BCl-2, TNF, Caspases, NF-κB, IAP and CARD), while the most pronounced deregulation (>5-fold) were observed in 46.9% events. The results of this study underline the importance of apoptosis in heterogenous tumor tissue. The identification of the apoptotic gene panel in tissue biopsies from patients with GBM may help improve the effectiveness of treatments for GBM in clinical practice and may broaden our understanding of brain tumor cell metabolism. Recognizing the changes in the expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes may aid in the development of novel treatment strategies founded on a molecular basis.

This chapter offers literary review of most frequently observed brain tumors in childhood. It offers basics of epidemiology, clinical presentation and diagnostics of most often occurring types of tumors according to new WHO classification of brain tumors from 2016 and emphasizes molecular biological characteristics and role of altered genes and genetic pathways in brain tumor etiology, classification and treatment. This review not only concentrates on gliomas, medulloblastomas and ependymomas, but also offers characterization of other less frequently observed lesions. Each tumor characteristics also contains basics of therapeutical possibilities of these lesions with focus on targeted and individually designed therapy according to molecular and genetic alterations found in tumor tissue sample.

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