title: Neonatal hypothalamic hamartoma: a differentiating nonlethal hamartoblastoma.
abstract: The authors report on a patient with a large hypothalamic hamartoma with a cleft lip and palate and seizures. Neuroimaging revealed a large extraaxial, intradural mass in the prepontine and interpeduncular cisterns with significant distortion of the brainstem. A stereotactic transfontanel needle biopsy revealed a cellular lesion that contained immature-appearing neuroepithelial cells consistent with prior descriptions of hypothalamic hamartoblastoma. While having a low level of proliferation by Ki67 (MIB-1) labeling, the lesion also contained evidence of neuronal maturation, with many cells expressing neuronal nuclear antigen as observed during immunohistochemical analysis. Further clinical evaluation revealed no other significant congenital abnormalities, and the patient was discharged home. Outpatient follow up has continued for 2 years and the patient has been doing well, requiring no further treatment. This case illustrates that, despite its immature and proliferative histological appearance, this rare neonatal mass can be regarded as a "differentiating" hypothalamic hamartoma and can have a favorable prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Shands Children's Hospital, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296, USA. saxonma@peds.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saxonhouse
authors.forename: Anthony T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Yachnis
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Burchfield
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quisling
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Pincus
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple; D001706:Biopsy; D002971:Cleft Lip; D002972:Cleft Palate; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007029:Hypothalamic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology