[Hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system. A clinical study]

Abstract

In a survey of 46 patients with haemagioblastoma of the CNS (Neurology Dept. University Hamburg, 1950-1980) most (n = 40) were found to have angioblastomas of the cerebellum (Lindau tumors). Of these patients 21 were re-examined in 1983. Headache was the most frequent initial symptom (43%), and within this group one-third (10%-15%) had dizziness, sensorymotor deficits and cerebellar gait disturbances. Signs of elevated intracranial pressure much more often led to the correct diagnosis than dizziness or dystaxia. After the introduction of CCT to the diagnostic procedure the combined evaluation of angiography of the vertebral arteries and CCT always permitted the correct diagnosis. The low neurosurgical mortality rate (13.5%) has decreased to 0% within the last decade. No relapses were found in 21 re-examinations including CCT and EOG compared to a frequency of 9.7% in all 46 cases. Significantly less often than expected from other data we found: signs of possible hereditary influence (0%), multiple tumor localization combined with angiomatosis retinae (0%), polyglobulia (10.8%). Psychopathologically relevant signs (45.6%) were, in all cases, combined with signs of increased intracranial pressure. The results of our re-examination demonstrate that late postoperative deficits as well as possible relapses are earlier and more precisely evaluated by the combined use of clinical examination, CCT and EOG.