Cordomas: estudo anátomo-clínico de 8 casos

Eight patients with the diagnosis of chordoma during the period 1953 to 1985 were reviewed; 6 of them with tumor in the intracranial region, 1 in the cervical spine and 1 with probably sacrococygeal primary site. Clinical aspectsof physical and neurologic examination and diagnostic methods were analyzed. It is emphasized: the tumor's rarity, its predominancy in females and in the intracranial region, and its greater incidence in the third decade (average age: 31 years). The chordomas present multiform symptomatology,depending on their site; although they are hystologically benign, the 5-year survival rate is low, due to their infiltrative behaviour, to the occurence of reincidence after surgery and/or radiation therapy and to eventual metastasis.Foram estudados e revistos 8 casos de pacientes com cordomas, diagnosticados no período compreendido entre janeiro de 1953 e dezembro de 1985, sendo 6 de localização intracraniana, 1 de origem sacrococcígea provável e 1 cervical. Analisaram-se dados clínicos de exame físico e neurológico, bem como métodos diagnósticos. Ressaltam-se a raridade do tumor, o predomínio deste em pacientes do sexo feminino e em território intracraniano (estes dois últimos dados conflitantes com os da literatura) e seu acometimento na faixa etária de 30 anos (idade média de 31 anos). Os cordomas apresentam sintomatologia diversa, dependente de sua localização; apesar de possuirem caracteres histológicos benignos, a sobrevida em 5 anos é baixa, por causa do seu comportamento infiltrativo, da ocorrência de recidivas após tratamento radioterápico e/ou cirúrgico e de eventuais metástases

Metástases intrarraquidianas de glioblastoma multiforme supratentorial da infância: relato de caso Spinal cord metastatic glioblastoma multiforme of childhood: case report

Relatamos o caso de uma menina de onze anos de idade com glioblastoma multiforme na região têmporo-parietal direita, completamente ressecado cirurgicamente, submetida a radioterapia craniana pós-operatória. Houve recaída três meses após, em topografia distante do sítio primário, na porção caudal do canal raquidiano. Após, ocorreu evolução rápida para o óbito. A propósito desse caso, discutimos nossa experiência quanto à conduta nesses tumores e a literatura sobre o assunto.<br>We report the case of an eleven years-old girl with a right temporo-parietal glioblastoma multiforme. The tumor was totally resected on neurossurgery, and cranial radioteraphy was applied at next. The tumor recurred three months later, far from primary site, in the caudal portion of the spinal canal. Death occurred in less than one month later. Taking into account the data of this case, we discuss our experience in the management of such tumors and the literature on the subject

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved