Brain trauma causes the onset of an inflammatory process within the dural border cell layer; high levels of inflammatory cytokines were significantly correlated with recurrence and layering CSDH. A prolonged postoperative antiinflammatory medicine given as prophylaxis may help prevent the recurrence of a CSDH.

We found 128 cases of extra CNS metastases in the English literature. The main features of the patients of the previous reports and of those of the present series were analyzed. The main modalities of glioblastoma multiforme spread, the few theories about the rarity of metastasis, and the probable biological, histological and immunogenetic mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis are described. Although several studies have reported a poor outcome in elderly patients, they affirm that the treatment of those with a Karnofsky performance status >60 should be just as aggressive as in younger patients. This allows them to obtain a longer survival time and to also treat metastases, which are uncommon particularly in the elderly.

Cerebral meningiomas are rare tumors in children that represent 1.4% of CNS tumors and 1.5% of intracranial meningiomas. We have analyzed 197 cases of cerebral meningiomas under 16: 178 cases were taken from the available literature and 19 from our series. When comparing pediatric meningiomas with those of adults, we noted some differences. Before the age of 16 there is a slight preference for males; the intraventricular variety is more frequent; cystic meningiomas and the absence of dural attachment are more frequent findings; the neuroradiological diagnosis is more difficult.

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We devised a quantitative assay for Epstein-Barr-virus-infected mononuclear leukocytes (virocytes) to determine their prevalence in the blood of patients with acute-phase and convalescent-phase infectious mononucleosis and in healthy Epstein-Barr-virus-seropositive controls. Mononuclear peripheral blood leukocyte suspensions were tested for virus-determined cytoproliferative activity by cocultivation with human cord-cell indicator cultures. The highest levels of virocytes among circulating mononuclear leukocytes were found in the early acute phase of infectious mononucleosis (up to 0.05 per cent). Virocytemia decreased to levels comparable with those of healthy controls (less than 0.00001 per cent) by the third month after onset of infectious mononucleosis. These findings provide a quantitative profile of the course of the infection at cellular level and support existing evidence of the efficiency of immune control mechanisms in limiting Epstein-Barr-virus infection during the course of infectious mononucleosis.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of childhood acute epidural hematoma and to report our experience in recent years. A series of 35 patients below the age of 15 years treated for acute epidural hematoma at our institution between June 1991 and December 2000 was analyzed in detail. Pediatric epidural hematoma presents both age-related and atypical features when compared with epidural hematoma in adults. In selected cases, prompt surgical evacuation of the hematoma results in an excellent outcome. Outcomes seem to be directly related to the patient's preoperative neurologic status and the presence of associated intracranial lesions.

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