title: Solid cerebral echinococcosis mimicking a primary brain tumor.
abstract: Solitary brain affection is rare in echinococcosis. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman presenting with symptomatic grand-mal epilepsy due to a right frontal, partially cystic space-occupying lesion. Pre-operative computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested a cystic astrocytoma. However, histological examination yielded the diagnosis of a 'chitinoma', a rare subtype of solid cerebral hydatid disease (echinococcosis). It mimicked a primary brain tumor and, therefore, posed a diagnostic problem. We present the--to our knowledge--first MRI scans in a case of a histologically proven chitinoma.
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Clinic, Hippocrateion University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nanassis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alexiadou-Rudolf
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tsitsopoulos
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tzioufa
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Petsas
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grigoriou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed