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J Neuroendocrinol 2021 Jun;33(6):e12995

Department of Endocrinology, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Churchill Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Many reviews have summarised the pathology and management of the parasellar region in adult patients, although an analysis of these aspects in the transition years, from puberty onset to the age of peak bone mass, has been lacking. A comprehensive search of English-language original articles, published from 2000 to 2020, was conducted in the MEDLINE database (December 2019 to March 2020). We selected all studies regarding epidemiology, diagnosis and management of the following parasellar lesions: germinoma, craniopharyngioma, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, optic glioma, hypothalamic hamartoma, tuber cinereum hamartoma, cranial chordoma, Rathke cleft cyst, hypophysitis and hypothalamitis during the transition age from childhood to adulthood. Read More

Mod Pathol 2021 Jun 7. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.

Thyroid-like follicular renal cell carcinoma is an uncommon kidney tumor with no distinct molecular alteration described to date. This cohort of eight women with mean and median ages of 45 and 46 years, respectively (range 19-65 years), had unencapsulated, well-circumscribed tumors composed of tightly packed anastomosing follicle-like cysts filled with eosinophilic colloid-like material and lined by cuboidal cells with high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratios, oval to elongated nuclei with perpendicular arrangement toward the lumens, and prominent nuclear overlapping. The stroma between these was minimal with the exception of two tumors. Read More

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2021 25;17:1599-1610. Epub 2021 May 25.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University of Ulm, Ulm, 89075, Germany.

Neurocysticercosis, the most common type of neuroparasitosis, is a condition in which the central nervous system (CNS) is infested with the pork tapeworm cysticercosis' larvae. Neurocysticercosis is the most widespread parasitic CNS disease worldwide, affecting more than 50 million individuals. As neurocysticercosis is prevalent in developing countries, the growing number of migrants and travelers increases prevalence in developed countries. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2021 May 31;11(6). Epub 2021 May 31.

Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Imaging, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy.

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a heritable cancer syndrome in which benign and malignant tumors and/or cysts develop throughout the central nervous system (CNS) and visceral organs. The disease results from mutations in the VHL tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3 (3p25-26). A majority of individuals (60-80%) with VHL disease will develop CNS hemangioblastomas (HMG). Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021 06 1;6:CD000215. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, India.

Background: Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic infection of the central nervous system by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm and is a common cause of seizures and epilepsy in endemic areas. Anthelmintics (albendazole or praziquantel) may be given alongside supportive treatment (antiepileptics/analgesia) with the aim of killing these larvae (cysticerci), with or without corticosteroid treatment. However, there are potential adverse effects of these drugs, and the cysticerci may eventually die without directed anthelminthic treatment. Read More

Pituitary 2021 May 27. Epub 2021 May 27.

Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Purpose: Rathke cleft cysts (RCC) are a target for transsphenoidal surgery when symptomatic; however, the surgical techniques and outcomes continue to be of interest. Our goal is to highlight nuances in diagnosis, surgical philosophy and techniques, and outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a single surgeon experience in a contemporary series of RCC from April 2008 through December 2019. Read More

J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg 2021 May 24. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Neurosurgery, Beta Clinic Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

In this case report, the authors describe the first case of a glioependymal cyst of the brainstem managed by robot-assisted, stereotactic, cysto-ventricular shunting. Glioependymal cysts are rare congenital cystic lesions that are thought to form by displacement of ependymal cells during the embryonal period. Glioependymal cysts have been reported in a variety of different locations within the central nervous system. Read More

Yonago Acta Med 2021 May 16;64(2):155-161. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Brain and Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred imaging technique for the sellar and parasellar regions. In this review article, we report our clinical experience with MRI for hypothalamic and pituitary lesions, such as pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, Rathke cleft cysts, germinoma, and hypophysitis with reference to the histopathological findings through a review of the literature. Our previous study indicated that three dimensional-spoiled gradient echo sequence is a more suitable sequence for evaluating sellar lesions on postcontrast T1 weighted image (WI). Read More

Chin Neurosurg J 2021 May 21;7(1):30. Epub 2021 May 21.

Department of Neurosurgery, The First Teaching Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Xinjiang, 830054, China.

Background: To explore central nervous system (CNS) involvement in this disease, from the perspectives of diagnosis, treatment, and misdiagnosis METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with CNS echinococcosis were included in this retrospective study, including 18 males (64.3%) and 10 (35.7%) females. Read More

Radiol Case Rep 2021 Jul 1;16(7):1766-1769. Epub 2021 May 1.

Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, Department of Neurology, rua Mestro Cradim, 769, 01323001 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by , an intracellular protozoan that is often associated with immunocompromised patients and is rare in immunocompetent. A 60-year-old man was admitted with a history of 2 days of headache and right-sided weakness. There was no history of fever, surgeries, or any other comorbid illness. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 29;11:649958. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.

Background: Diagnosing the well-known concomitant Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) and differentiating it from other sellar lesions are difficult because RCC is and other sellar lesions are closely related and represent a continuum from simple RCCs to more complex lesions. The purpose of this study is to better understand the adeno- and neurohypophysis adjacent to the par intermedia remnants and their role in the origin of the coexistence of these two distinct tumor neoplasias; to assess the incidence in different age groups; to categorize the pathohistological subtype, which can be incorporated in predictive/prognostic models; and finally, to evaluate the current evidence on collision tumors of the sellar embryonic remnant tract in terms of their biological behavior and pathology.

Methods: Utilizing the PubMed database, data were collected from 1920 to 2019. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2021 Jun 4;88:147-149. Epub 2021 Apr 4.

Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Center East, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

Although the possibility of spontaneous regression of intracranial arachnoid cysts (AC) during observational follow-up is widely recognized, the number of reports documenting such clinical course, often associated with the mild head trauma, is rather limited. We present a case of nearly complete resolution of the large middle fossa AC in a 5-year-old boy without any identifiable cause in 2.3 years after the initial diagnosis. Read More

Endocr Pract 2021 Jun 17. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Electronic address:

Objective: To evaluate the response of incidentally discovered pituitary cysts to growth hormone (GH) treatment.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of children with pituitary cysts on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a 5-year period. Records and images were reviewed, and the results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Read More

mSphere 2021 04 21;6(2). Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

causes a chronic infection that renders the immunocompromised human host susceptible to toxoplasmic encephalitis triggered by cyst reactivation in the central nervous system. The dense granule protein GRA12 is a major parasite virulence factor required for parasite survival during acute infection. Here, we characterized the role of four GRA12-related genes in acute and chronic stages of infection. Read More

Nat Commun 2021 04 20;12(1):2344. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Direct determination of RNA structures and interactions in living cells is critical for understanding their functions in normal physiology and disease states. Here, we present PARIS2, a dramatically improved method for RNA duplex determination in vivo with >4000-fold higher efficiency than previous methods. PARIS2 captures ribosome binding sites on mRNAs, reporting translation status on a transcriptome scale. Read More

Radiol Bras 2021 Mar-Apr;54(2):115-122

Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, Brazil.

The temporal lobes are vulnerable to several diseases, including infectious, immune-mediated, degenerative, vascular, metabolic, and neoplastic processes. Therefore, lesions in the temporal lobes can pose a diagnostic challenge for the radiologist. The temporal lobes are connected by structures such as the anterior commissure, corpus callosum, and hippocampal commissure. Read More

Rev Chilena Infectol 2020 Dec;37(6):690-693

Hospital Regional Lambayeque, Perú.

Backgound: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most common parasitosis of the central nervous system, and a very important cause of epilepsy.

Aim: To describe the clinical features of patients with NCC attending a high level hospital from Lambayeque during: 2016-2018.

Methods: The medical records of patients with NCC were reviewed, and their information was collected on a data sheet. Read More

Trop Biomed 2021 Mar;38(1):73-80

College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, University of Nizwa, Birkat Al-Mouz, Nizwa, 616, Sultanate of Oman.

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protozoan pathogen which is found in diverse environment worldwide. Being ubiquitous nature of this amoeba we come across it in our daily life. Acanthamoeba species are recognized as human pathogens; that may cause blinding keratitis and rare but fatal granulomatous encephalitis involving central nervous system. Read More

Infect Dis Poverty 2021 Mar 20;10(1):34. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, VIC, 3030, Australia.

Background: Neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium when the parasite lodges in the central nervous system, is an important cause of human seizures and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The parasite is prevalent in many regions of Uganda. Pigs are intermediate hosts for T. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021 25;12:636600. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Centre for Neurobiochemical Studies in Neuroendocrine Diseases, Laboratory of Neurobiochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Independencia, Chile.

The functioning of the ovary is influenced by the autonomic system (sympathetic and cholinergic intraovarian system) which contributes to the regulation of steroid secretion, follicular development, and ovulation. There is no information on the primary signal that activates both systems. The nerve growth factor (NGF) was the first neurotrophic factor found to regulate ovarian noradrenergic neurons and the cholinergic neurons in the central nervous system. Read More

Asian J Neurosurg 2020 Oct-Dec;15(4):989-996. Epub 2020 Dec 21.

Department of Neurosurgery and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy.

Context: Endodermal cysts are rare benign developmental cysts lined by mucin-secreting and/or ciliated, cuboidal, or columnar epithelium of probably endodermal origin.

Aims: Endodermal cysts are rarely intracranial, frequently located in the posterior fossa. Supratentorial location is the most infrequent and only few cases are reported in the literature, included our case. Read More

Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2021 03;45(1):49-55

Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Parasitology, İzmir, Turkey

is an intracellular protozoan parasite. Approximately 30% of the global population is infected by . In chronically infected individuals, the parasite resides in tissue cysts, especially in the brain. Read More

Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports 2021 Jan 22;23:100537. Epub 2021 Jan 22.

Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, Rua dos Funcionários, 1540, Juvevê, Curitiba CEP:80035-060, Paraná, Brazil.

This study aims to report the detection of N. caninum DNA in a newborn lamb (1) with neurological signs and congenital neosporosis and in a stillborn lamb (2), both born from the same ewe in a herd of Southern Brazil. The lambs were born during different pregnancies of a Suffolk ewe seropositive to N. Read More

J Neuroophthalmol 2021 Feb 19. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Departments of Neurosurgery (DBA, SES, JDT), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (CAA, JDT), Radiology, Division of Neuroradiology (HAP), Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (SES), and Neurology University of Michigan (SES, JDT), Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Background: Pituitary adenomas and nonadenomatous lesions in the sellar region may be difficult to distinguish by imaging yet that distinction is critical in guiding management. The nature of the diagnostic errors in this setting has not been well documented.

Methods: Two neurosurgeons and 2 neuroradiologists of differing experience levels viewed deidentified MRIs of 18 nonadenomatous sellar lesions and 21 adenomas. Read More

Nat Rev Microbiol 2021 Jul 24;19(7):467-480. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Department of Molecular Microbiology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that infects a wide range of animals and causes zoonotic infections in humans. Although it normally only results in mild illness in healthy individuals, toxoplasmosis is a common opportunistic infection with high mortality in individuals who are immunocompromised, most commonly due to reactivation of infection in the central nervous system. In the acute phase of infection, interferon-dependent immune responses control rapid parasite expansion and mitigate acute disease symptoms. Read More

J Neuroendocrinol 2021 03 21;33(3):e12942. Epub 2021 Feb 21.

Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

IgG4-related hypophysitis (IgG4-RH) is increasingly being reported as an isolated entity or, less frequently, as a manifestation of a multiorgan IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), in which typical histopathology is a cornerstone for the diagnosis. We aimed to describe the histopathological changes in the surgical specimens from patients with clinical signs of pituitary disease that fulfilled the current diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RH. Histopathological features were correlated with clinical and radiological findings. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2021 Mar 21;85:122-131. Epub 2021 Jan 21.

Neurosurgical Service, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, 229899, Singapore; Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore; Singhealth Duke-NUS Neuroscience Academic Clinical Program, National Neuroscience Institute, 11, Jalan Tan Tock Seng, 308433, Singapore. Electronic address:

Arachnoid cysts (AC) are reported to have a prevalence of up to 2.6% in children. Most AC remain indolent, but others may expand or rupture to cause life-threatening symptoms of raised intracranial pressure. Read More

World Neurosurg 2021 May 7;149:e455-e459. Epub 2021 Feb 7.

Department of Neurosurgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Background: Rathke cleft cysts (RCCs) are benign sellar lesions originating from remnants of primitive ectoderm. They have not been previously linked to other cystic lesions, such as pineal cysts (PCs). Our objective was to perform a multicenter cross-sectional neuroimaging study to examine prevalence rates of coexisting RCC and PC. Read More

Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2021 Mar;42(1):77-80

From the Department of Forensic Pathology, LabPLUS, Auckland City Hospital.

Abstract: Mass lesions in the brain encompass a wide range neoplastic and nonneoplastic entities. These can present as a diagnostic pitfall, with nonspecific, overlapping symptoms and similar appearances on radiology. They may cause death through varied mechanisms, either specific to the underlying pathophysiology or due to the space-occupying effect of the lesion. Read More

Neurocirugia (Astur : Engl Ed) 2021 Feb 4. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, İzmir, Turkey.

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal oligodendrogliomatosis is a rare fatal tumor of childhood. Symptoms usually occur when the tumor causes hydrocephalus. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be nearly normal in the early stages of the disease, while hydrocephalus and multiple leptomeningeal cysts with spongiform appearance may appear later on. Read More