São relatados 4 casos de puberdade precoce conseqüentes a tumores intracranianos: um teratoma adulto do ventrículo lateral, um astrocitoma protoplasmático do terceiro ventrículo e diencéfalo, um astroblastoma do ter- ceiro ventrículo e diencéfalo e um hamartoma hipotalâmico. São apresentadas teorias que tentam explicar os mecanismos hormonais envolvidos e é salientada a importância do diagnóstico neuroradiológico preciso, pela possibilidade de cura em alguns casos e de tratamento satisfatório nos demais.

Four cases of precocious puberty secondary to intracranial tumors are reported. A 3 year and 11 month old boy had a teratoma in the left lateral ventricle and total surgical excision was followed by recovery. An 8 year old girl with a protoplasmic astrocytoma of the third ventricle diagnosed by biopsy, followed by shunting and cobalt therapy was discharged improved. A five year old boy with an extensive astroblastoma of the diencephalon died following biopsy and shunting of cerebrospinal fluid. A posterior hypothalamic hamartoma totally excised from a 3 year old girl was followed by remission of the precocious puberty. The theories of hormonal mechanisms leading to precocious puberty are presented. It is stressed the importance of pneumoencephalography in the diagnosis of intracranial hamartomas, for they lack neurological signs.

Quatorze pacientes com espasmo hemifacial foram submetidos a exploração cirúrgica e neurolise do 7º par craniano no ângulo ponto-cerebelar. Em 7 pacientes havia indubitável compressão do nervo facial por alça anômala da artéria cerebelar anterior e inferior sendo que um paciente também apresentava malformação de Arnold-Chiari. Em um paciente havia aracnoidite envolvendo o nervo. Em 6 outros, o nervo achava-se aparentemente livre. Houve alívio imediato e duradouro do espasmo em 10 pacientes, 2 permaneceram inalterados e um apresentou recidiva após 10 meses. Houve um óbito no pós-operatório imediato, conseqüente a traumatismo craniano por queda do paciente.

Fourteen patients with hemifacial spasm were submitted to surgical exposure and neurolysis of the seventh nerve at the cerebellopontine angle. Seven patients had an anomalous anterior inferior cerebellar artery pulsating on the nerve, being present in one patient also Arnold-Chiari malformation. Another patient had chronic arachnoiditis involving the facial nerve. In 6 patients no abnormalities were found in the posterior fossa. There was complete relief of the spasm in 10 patients, 2 were unchanged, 1 had recurrence 10 months later and 1 died in the post-operative period due to head injury sustained during a fall.

Os autores relatam um caso de paciente de 25 anos, masculino, submetido a radioterapia cervical por carcinoma indiferenciado do rinofaringe com metástases ganglionares. Seis meses depois desenvolveu tetraparesia progressiva com exames liquórico e mielográfico compatíveis com diagnóstico de tumor intramedular. O exame histopatológico revelou aspecto característico da mielopatia após irradiação.

The clinical and pathological studies of a post-radiation cervical myelopathy in a 25 year old male are reported. The patient had received 6000 r at the neck region for an undifferentiated carcinoma of the pharynx with metastasis to limph nodes. Six months latter progressive tetraparesis developed and myelography suggested intramedullary tumor. Post-mortem examination showed radiation cervical myelopathy.