title: Epidermoid cysts of the fourth ventricle.
abstract: Epidermoid tumors located in the fourth ventricle are exceedingly rare. Seven cases of this pathological condition were observed during a 10-year period. Patients were mostly middle-aged men, with a clinical history of relatively short duration (5 months). Clinical symptoms consisted of vertigo and ataxia, followed by incoordination, dysmetria, and tremor at a later stage. Computed tomography scanning represented the main diagnostic technique for these lesions, and typically showed a highly hypodense, round-shaped area within the fourth ventricle, occasionally accompanied by hydrocephaly. Subtotal surgical removal of the cysts produced excellent results in 86% of the cases. The implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, S. Filippo Neri Hospital, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fiume
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gazzeri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spallone
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Santucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002551:Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D004814:Epidermal Cyst / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed