title: Serial neuropsychological follow-up of a child following craniospinal irradiation.
abstract: Serial neuropsychological examinations were made of an eight-year-old girl following diagnosis and treatment of a pineocytoma. The tumor was resected and she received intensive radiation therapy to the entire neuraxis, with a boost to the pineal region. A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered every six to eight weeks, beginning before and continuing for 48 weeks after radiation therapy. Parental questionnaires on the patient's everyday behavior were obtained, as well as past and present school records. MRI studies were performed seven weeks, nine months and 14 months after treatment had ended. The only functional area showing deterioration over the follow-up period was memory, both verbal and spatial. The MRIs showed no abnormalities related either to the tumor or to the radiation therapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Development, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick 08903-0019.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bendersky
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Mandelbaum
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stanger
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010871:Pinealoma / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000523:psychology; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000528:radiation effects*