Background The Delphi consensus statements on the management of germ cell tumors (GCTs) failed to reach agreements on the statement that the cases with 1) pineal and neurohypophyseal bifocal lesion, 2) with diabetes insipidus, and 3) with negative tumor markers can be diagnosed as germinoma without histological verification. To answer this, multicenter retrospective analysis was performed. Methods A questionnaire on clinical findings, histological diagnosis, and details of surgical procedures was sent to 86 neurosurgical and 35 pediatrics departments in Japan. Results Fifty-one institutes reported 132 cases that fulfilled the three criteria. Tissue sampling was performed in 91 cases from pineal (n = 44), neurohypophyseal (n = 32), both (n = 6) and distant (n = 9) lesions. Histological diagnosis was established in 89 cases: pure germinoma or germinoma with syncytiotrophoblastic giant cells in 82 (92.1%) cases, germinoma and mature teratoma in two cases, and granulomatous inflammation in two cases. Histological diagnosis was not established in two cases. Although no tumors other than GCTs were identified, three (3.4%) patients had non-germinomatous GCTs (NGGCTs). None of the patients developed permanent complications after endoscopic or stereotactic biopsy. Thirty-nine patients underwent simultaneous procedure for acute hydrocephalus without permanent complications, and hydrocephalus was controlled in 94.9% of them. Conclusion All patients who fulfilled the three criteria had GCTs or granulomatous inflammation, but not other types of tumors. However, no less than 3.4% of the patients had NGGCTs. Considering the safety and the effects of simultaneous procedures for acute hydrocephalus, biopsy was recommended in such patients.

Radical resection of the cavernoma with severe symptoms might be recommended in elderly patients, especially in those with multiple rebleeding events. From the viewpoint of surgery, we consider the subacute phase the optimal time to remove cavernomas in elderly hemorrhagic patients. However, multiple rebleeding events might exacerbate the neurologic deficit. Therefore, the subacute phase from the first or second rebleeding might be the best time for the surgical resection. At surgical intervention, preservation of the surrounding brain should be prioritized over complete removal of the cavernoma and hematoma.

Background:Some patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) show broad infarction with moderate internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis, whereas others with complete ICA occlusion show no infarction. This suggests that other factors contribute to the occurrence of infarction. Contributing factors predictive of cerebral infarcts must be identified for the prevention of infarction and the consequent neurological deficits.Methods:We examined data from 93 patients with confirmed MMD for the presence of infarction (n = 72), transient ischemic attack (TIA, n = 41), asymptomatic presentation (n = 51), or hemorrhage (n = 22) in 186 bilateral cerebral hemispheres. We analyzed the relationship between the occurrence of infarction and several clinical factors, such as steno-occlusive status or the site of the ICA and posterior cerebral artery (PCA).Results:The incidence of PCA steno-occlusive lesions was significantly higher in infarcted (77.8%) than in non-infarcted hemispheres (TIA, 14.6%; asymptomatic, 9.8%; hemorrhagic 9.1%; P < 0.01). The steno-occlusive site of ICA was also a significant factor (P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the occurrence of infarction and the steno-occlusive status of the ICA or grade of the moyamoya vessels. Multivariate statistical analysis demonstrated that the PCA steno-occlusive changes were an important contributing factor for infarction (P < 0.0001).Conclusions:This is the multivariate statistical analysis study identifying PCA steno-occlusive lesions as the most important independent factor that is predictive to cerebral infarction in moyamoya patients. The prediction and inhibition of PCA steno-occlusive changes may help to prevent cerebral infarction.

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Background: In some cases of acute brainstem infarction (BI), standard axial diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) does not show a lesion, leading to false-negative (FN) diagnoses. It is important to recognize acute BI accurately and promptly to initiate therapy as soon as possible. Methods: Of the 171 patients with acute cerebral infarctions in our institution who were examined, 16 were diagnosed with true-positive BI (TP-BI) and six with FN-BI. We evaluated the effectiveness of sagittal DWI in accurately diagnosing acute BI and sought to find the cause of its effectiveness by the anatomical characterization of FN-BIs. Results: Considering the direction of the brainstem perforating arteries, we supposed that sagittal DWI might more effectively detect BIs than axial DWI. We found that sagittal DWI detected all FN-BIs more clearly than axial DWI. The mean time between the onset of symptoms and initial DWI was significantly longer in the TP group (17.6 ± 5.5 h) than in the FN group (5.0 ± 1.2 h; P < 0.0001). The lesion volumes were much smaller in FN-BIs (259 ± 82 mm3) than in TP-BIs (2779 ± 767 mm3; P = 0.0007). FN-BIs had a significant inverse correlation with the ventrodorsal length of infarcts (FN 3.5 ± 1.1 mm, TP 11.4 ± 3.6 mm; P < 0.0004) and no correlation with other size parameters such as rostrocaudal thickness and lateral width. Conclusion: Anatomical characterization clearly confirmed that the addition of sagittal DWI to the initial axial DWI in suspected cases of BI ensures its accurate diagnosis and improves the patient’s prognosis.