Post-radiation gliomas.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy is important in the treatment of neoplasm of the central nervous system, but various side effects, particularly neoplastic, have been described. Recently, post-radiation gliomas have been reported. METHODS: The authors review 88 cases of cerebral glioma following radiotherapy in patients operated for neoplasms of the nervous system, including 6 personal cases of post-radiation gliomas treated in the Neurosurgical Division of the Department of Neurological Sciences, "La Sapienza" University, Rome. The criteria used to define this unusual pathologic association are discussed. RESULTS: There was a male predominance. Post-radiation gliomas were particularly malignant, the average dose was 33 Gy, and average free latency was 9.6 years. The first disease was most frequently acute lymphatic leukemia. CONCLUSIONS: Post-radiation gliomas have particular features but do not present a histologic or clinical behavior different from analogous spontaneous gliomas. The fact that 88 cases have been reported in recent years suggests that a thorough biological, clinical studies be carried out on this association

Gas-containing lumbar disc herniation. A case report and review of the literature

The finding of gas into the intervertebral disc space ("vacuum phenomenon") is relatively common, whereas gas-containing cervical or lumbar disc herniations are rarely observed. A case of a patient with bilateral leg pain, provoked by a computed tomography scan and surgically documented L4-L5 gas-containing disc herniation is reported and the cases previously described in detail are reviewed, to define the pathophysiologic and diagnostic aspects of this rare phenomenon associated with a herniated disc fragment