Abstract
We report three patients with arachnoid cysts treated by cyst-peritoneal shunting in whom intracranial hypertension occurred during episodes of shunt malfunction. In one case this was associated with re-expansion of the arachnoid cyst, whilst in the other two cases this did not occur. The similarities between these two cases and patients with pseudotumor cerebri suggest a common pathogenic mechanism — specifically, a disturbance of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Aoki N, Sakai T. Umezawa Y (1990) Slit ventricle syndrome after cyst-peritoneal shunting for the treatment of intracranial arachnoid cyst. Child's Nerv Syst 6:41–43
Bright R (1831) Serous cysts in the arachnoid. In: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, Pater-Noster, Highley (eds) Re-ports of medical cases with a view of illustrating the symptoms and cure of diseases by reference to morbid anatomy, vol 2: Diseases of the brain and nervous system, part 1. London, pp 437–439
Fishman RA (1984) The pathophysiology of pseudotumor cerebri. Arch Neurol 41:257–258
Galassi E, Piazza G, Gaist G, et al (1980) Arachnoid cysts of the middle cranial fossa: a clinical and radiological study of 25 cases treated surgically. Surg Neurol 14:211–219
Go KG, Houthoff HJ, Blaauw E, et al (1984) Arachnoid cysts of the Sylvian fissure. Evidence of fluid secretion. J Neurosurg 60:803–813
Howman-Giles R, McLaughlin A, Johnston I et al (1984) A radionuclide method of evaluating shunt function and CSF circulation in hydrocephalus. J Neurosurg 61:604–605
Johnston I, Hawke S, Halmaygi M, et al (1991) The pseudotumor syndrome: disorders of cerebrospinal fluid circulation causing intracranial hypertension without ventriculomegaly. Arch Neurol 48:740–747
Kaplan BJ, Mickle JP, Parkhurst R (1984) Cystperitoneal shunting for congenital arachnoid cysts. Child's Brain 11:304–311
Lodrini S, Lasio G, Fornari M et al (1985) Treatment of supratentorial primary arachnoid cysts. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 76:105–110
Marinov M, Undijian S, Wetzka P (1989) An evaluation of the surgical treatment of intracranial arachnoid cysts in children. Child's Nerv Syst 5:177–183
Menezes AH, Bell WE, Perret GE (1980) Arachnoid cysts in children. Arch Neurol 37:168–172
Naidich TP, McLone DG, Radkowski MA (1985/1986) Intracranial arachnoid cysts. Pediatr Neurosci 12:112–122
Osaka K, Handa H, Matsumoto S et al (1980) Development of the cerebrospinal fluid pathway in the normal and abnormal human embryos. Child's Brain 6:26–38
Page L (1985) Cerebrospinal fluid and extracellular fluid: their relationship to pressure and duration of canine hydrocephalus. Child's Nerv Syst 1:12–17
Raffel C, McComb JG (1988) To shunt or to fenestrate: which is the best surgical treatment for arachnoid cysts in pediatric patients? Neurosurgery 23:338–342
Robinson RG (1971) Congenital cysts of the brain: arachnoid malformations. Prog Neurol Surg 4:133–174
Smith RA, Smith WA (1976) Arachnoid cysts of the middle cranial fossa. Surg Neurol 5:246–252
Starkman SP, Brown TC, Linell EA (1958) Cerebral arachnoid cysts. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 7:484–500
Weed I (1935) Certain anatomical and physiological aspects of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid. Brain 58:383
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maixner, V.J., Besser, M. & Johnston, I.H. Pseudotumor syndrome in treated arachnoid cysts. Child's Nerv Syst 8, 207–210 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00262847
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00262847