Paraganglioma of the filum terminale presenting with normal pressure hydrocephalus

Received 26 June 2009; received in revised form 30 March 2010; accepted 5 April 2010.

Abstract

We describe a patient with an intraspinal paraganglioma who presented with normal pressure hydrocephalus. A 70-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of gait disturbance and cognitive dysfunction. Computed tomography of the brain and magnetic resonance imaging of the spine revealed communicating hydrocephalus and a spinal mass at the T12–L1 level which proved to be a paraganglioma of the filum terminale. Radioisotope cisternography revealed a severe delay in cerebrospinal fluid circulation. Symptoms related to communicating hydrocephalus resolved after tumor resection.

Keywords: Normal pressure hydrocephalus, Paraganglioma, Spinal tumor, Filum terminale, Radioisotope cisternography, Cerebrospinal fluid

a Department of Neurology, Kyung Hee University East-West Neo Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

b Department of Neurosurgery, Kyung Hee University East-West Neo Medical Center, #149, Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul 134-727, Republic of Korea

c Department of Oriental Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyung Hee University East-West Neo Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

d Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 440 6169; fax: +82 2 440 7171.

PII: S0303-8467(10)00106-X

doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2010.04.004

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