| A 51 year-old man presented with severe nausea. While in the hospital, he was noted to have episodes of shaking of the arms and would not respond to verbal stimuli. An urgent head CT scan was ordered, followed by emergency neurosurgical intervention and a subsequent MRI scan. |
| Craniopharyngioma.
(Left) T2-weighted axial MRI; (Right) Flair axial MRI. Note the presence of a large suprasellar
mass. Also note the prominent transependymal edema that is well seen
on the Flair image. Surgical removal demonstrated a
craniopharyngioma. Craniopharyngiomas arise in the suprasellar
region and are often calcified and cystic. They are slow growing
tumors that occur in children and adults, and can become very large
in size. In children, they are thought to occur as a result of
impaired embryogenesis of structures in or near the infundibulum of
the pituitary gland. In adults, they are believed to occur as a
result of metaplasia of pituitary squamous epithelium. Similar to
pituitary macroadenomas, they may present with endocrine dysfunction
or focal neurological signs due to mass effect in the suprasellar
region. |
Revised
11/30/06.
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston