We present a retrospective series of 27 nasopharyngeal carcinomas, selected from those attended at Ramón y Cajal Hospital between 1977 and 1996, with the aim of review the role of the study of Epstein-Barr virus in the diagnostic process of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Twenty-seven patients, ranging from 14 to 81 years, with an average age of 50 years were selected. Male/female ratio was 1,7. All but one case were Caucasian. A neck mass was the first symptom in 40% of cases, with a mean diagnostic delay of 17 months. Only 8 cases (23%) did not exhibit neck nodes at the moment of diagnosis. CT and MRI were essential to establish staging: 5 stage I, 7 stage II and 15 stage IV, due to regional extension and/or bone erosion. Radiotherapy was employed in all cases, helped by chemotherapy in 20% of them. With a mean follow-up of 62 months, 5-years survival was 32% (IC 14,06-52,09). Of 27 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma 4 were differentiated (type I), 2 moderately differentiated (type II) and 22 undifferentiated (type III). While LMP-1 was only expressed by 41% of cases, PCR detected Epstein-Barr virus genome in 26 cases (96%) and in situ hybridization for EBERs was positive in all cases. Thus, all nasopharyngeal carcinomas were related to Epstein-Barr virus. Expression of LMP-1 seemed to worse the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
A 63-year-old man reported a 2-year history of painless OS proptosis. The first MRI, performed in the institution of origin, resulted in a diagnosis of hemangioma versus orbital pseudotumor. Examination revealed proptosis and mild chemosis. Ancillary tests were normal, and oral prednisone was initiated without remarkable changes. Later, an incisional biopsy identified the lesion as an intramuscular myxoma of the left rectus, and a new MRI was ordered. It described a fusiform thickening of the medial rectus with and exophytic growth below the inferior rectus and upward toward the superior oblique. Due to the localization of the lesion, a combined transcaruncular and swinging eyelid approach with a lateral orbitotomy was performed. Histopathological examination revealed a proliferation of stromal origin composed of myxoid matrix with fusocellular and stellate-shaped cells. Cells were S-100, CD34, and CD56 positive and negative for epithelial membrane antigen, CD68, CD10, actin, and desmin. Results were consistent with a left medial rectus nerve sheath myxoma.
Podemos definir la hemiparesia ipsilateral (HI) como una disfunción de la primera motoneurona que afecta a las extremidades del lado opuesto al esperado, dada la localización de la patología intracraneal desencadenante. La compresión del tracto corticoespinal (tCE) contra el borde libre del tentorio a su paso por el pedúnculo cerebral se conoce como fenómeno de Kernohan-Woltman (FKW). Estudio retrospectivo de pacientes diagnosticados de HI secundaria a un FKW atendidos en nuestra institución, incluyendo un estudio descriptivo de las variables epidemiológicas, clínicas, radiológicas, neurofisiológicas y pronósticas. En el 75% de los casos la clínica fue de instauración aguda o subaguda. El estudio de imagen inicial mostró signos de efecto de masa significativo en la mitad de los pacientes, mientras que la resonancia magnética (RM) permitió identificar una lesión estructural en el pedúnculo cerebral contralateral en dos terceras partes de los casos. En 4 pacientes se verificó una afectación de los potenciales evocados motores (PEM). Durante el seguimiento, 7 pacientes experimentaron una mejoría de la actividad motora, y aproximadamente la mitad de los casos fueron clasificados en los tres primeros grados de la escala de Rankin. En contraste con las series históricas, la mayor parte de nuestros pacientes desarrollaron un FWK a consecuencia de un traumatismo craneoencefálico. La RM es la prueba de imagen de elección tanto para identificar la clásica escotadura del pedúnculo cerebral como para detectar la presencia de una lesión estructural subyacente. El estudio de PEM puede servir de apoyo al diagnóstico, especialmente en casos dudosos. Ipsilateral hemiparesis (IH) can be defined as a paradoxical dysfunction of the first motor neuron involving the extremities on the opposite side to that expected, given the location of the triggering intracranial pathology. Compression of the corticospinal tract (CSt) along its course through the contralateral cerebral peduncle against the free edge of the tentorium, known as the Kernohan-Woltman notch phenomenon (KWNP), represents the main cause of IH. This retrospective study analyzes a series of 12 patients diagnosed with IH secondary to KWNP treated at our institution, including a descriptive study of epidemiological, clinical, radiological, neurophysiological, and prognostic variables. In 75% of the cases, symptoms had an acute or subacute onset. Initial imaging studies showed signs of significant mass effect in half of the patients, whereas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) identified a structural lesion in the contralateral cerebral peduncle in two thirds of them. Impairment of the motor evoked potentials (MEP) was verified in 4 patients. During follow-up 7 patients experienced improvement in motor activity, and near half of the cases were classified in the first three categories of the modified Rankin scale. In contrast to prior historical series, most of our patients developed a KWNP secondary to a traumatic mechanism. MRI represents the optimal method to identify both the classic cerebral peduncle notch and the underlying structural lesion of the CSt. The use of MEP can help to establish the diagnosis, especially in those cases lacking definite radiological findings.
Poster: SERAM 2012 / S-0250 / Fenomeno de Kernohan: que es? importancia de la RM en su diagnostico. by: M. Shahin, N. Hernandez Gutierrez, E. De Antonio Sanz, J. Martinez San Millan; Madrid/ES