title: Central neurogenic hyperventilation in an awake patient with a pontine glioma.
abstract: A 57-year-old awake man developed central neurogenic hyperventilation associated with a pontine mass. Serum pH reached as high as 7.72 with serum carbon dioxide of 6 torr. Examination of CSF during overbreathing showed that CSF pH was markedly alkaline. Pathologic study showed a well-differentiated pontine astrocytoma. The combination of alkaline CSF and an infiltrating pontine lesion supports a structural, rather than chemical, mechanism for central hyperventilation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Siderowf
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Balcer
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kenyon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nei
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Raps
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Galetta
mesh_terms: D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006985:Hyperventilation / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000209:etiology*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011149:Pons; D014851:Wakefulness
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid