Volume 25, Number 3, 367-371, DOI: 10.1007/s00381-008-0738-x

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Diurnally fluctuating frontal dysequilibrium secondary to a pineal pilocytic astrocytoma: is this symptom associated with a check-valve mechanism in a pineal region tumor?

Tae-Won Kim, Tae-Kyu Lee, Bum-Soo Kim, Kwang-Soo Lee, In-Uk Song and Joong-Seok Kim

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Abstract

Introduction  

The clinical manifestations of obstructive hydrocephalus vary with the age of the patient, duration of the condition, and etiology of the hydrocephalus.

Case report  

A 14-year-old boy presented with diurnally fluctuating dysarthria, dysequilibrium of the gait, and retropulsion, probably due to transient obstruction by a tumor at the entrance of the cerebral aqueduct of the pineal region. This fluctuation was ascertained clinically by assessing the ICARS score 5 h after the patient was in the supine and erect positions.

Conclusion  

This result suggests that the symptoms of hydrocephalus are possibly associated with a check-valve mechanism of the pineal tumor and may be related to transient compression of the basal ganglia and frontal lobes.

Keywords  Frontal dysequilibrium - Fluctuation - Pineal region - Tumor - Check-valve

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