Leptomeningeal glioblastoma presenting with multiple cranial neuropathies and confusion.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the commonest primary malignant neoplasm of the CNS. Usually, patients present with seizures and headache but in the elderly, confusion and generalised cognitive decline are more frequently the initial features. Multiple cranial nerve lesions as a manifestation of leptomeningeal meningitis is a rare presentation of GBM. The diagnosis is not often suggestive on either brain computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and is usually confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology or histology. We describe the case of an 80-year-old man, who presented with multiple cranial nerve palsies and confusion secondary to leptomeningeal gliomatosis, in whom GBM was detected along the intra-ventricular lining of the left lateral ventricle at ventriculoscopy, in the absence of a distinct parenchymal lesion.
Trivedi
R A
RA
Department of Neurology, Radcliffe Infirmary NHS Trust, Oxford, UK.
Nichols
P
P
Coley
S
S
Cadoux-Hudson
T A
TA
Donaghy
M
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003221:Confusion / Q000209:etiology*; D003389:Cranial Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D018302:Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology