Basilar artery aneurysm simulating pheochromocytoma

Abstract

Stimulation of sympathetic vasomotor centers by lesions in the posterior fossa has been described in humans and animals. We describe a patient with a pheochromocytoma-like syndrome and a basilar artery aneurysm. Repair of the aneurysm was followed by disappearance of hypertensive episodes. Posterior fossa lesions must be considered in patients with hypertensive crises when diagnostic procedures do not indicate an adrenal or extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma.

Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage Caused by Pheochromocytoma in a Child

“…In the report of Lo et al [2], it was diagnosed in 4 of 8,486 (0.05%) autopsies in patients with hypertension and accounted for 3 of the 4 sudden deaths in this series. Although there are reports concerning pheochromocytoma as the etiology of cerebral hemorrhage in a pregnant woman [3], pontine hemorrhage in a young man [4], cerebral aneurysms [5, 6, 7, 8, 9], cerebral infarction and disseminated intravascular coagulation in an adult [10], there are no previous reports of such tumors as the cause of spontaneous ICH in children.…”