In order to evaluate whether plasma levels of the potent vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (ET-1) are increased in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and whether these patients exhibit an ET-1-mediated vascular dysregulation, ET-1 plasma levels were measured in 30 patients with MS. Blood flow velocities in the ophthalmic artery, central retinal artery, central retinal vein, short lateral posterior ciliary artery, and short medial posterior ciliary artery were assessed in parallel. ET-1 plasma levels were significantly increased in MS patients when compared to sex- and age-matched healthy controls (2.0 ± 0.4 pg/ml, range 1.1–2.8 vs. 1.5 ± 0.2 pg/ml, range 0.9–2.0; p < 0.001). Moreover, the patients exhibited significant alterations of extraocular blood flow. The role of ET-1 in the inflammatory process remains to be clarified.

Movement disorders caused by brain tumors are rare. The diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) is based foremost on clinical findings. However, not performing imaging already within the initial diagnostic workup in patients presenting with symptoms of PD can delay or miss a serious diagnosis and consequently proper treatment. We describe and discuss a 59-year-old female patient who presented for several months of increasing tremor in her left hand, which was caused by a large meningioma located in the right frontal area, pressing on the right frontal lobe and nucleus lenticularis.

Hemangioblastomas represent 3% of all central nervous system (CNS) tumors. The majority of CNS hemangioblastomas are infratentorial, with the cerebellum being the most frequent location, while 13% are found in the brainstem. Symptoms of brainstem hemangioblastomas can be very subtle and might therefore be overlooked or misinterpreted. We report the case of a patient with a hemangioblastoma at the junction of the medulla oblongata and the cervical spine and provide a brief review of the literature.