Neurol. praxi. 2010;11(6):422-424

Acutely developing glioblastoma multiforme in a young man - a case report

MUDr.Radek Kaiser¹, MUDr.Robert Tomáš, Ph.D.², prof.MUDr.Pavel Haninec, CSc.¹

¹ Neurochirurgická klinika 3. LF UK a FN Královské Vinohrady v Praze

² Neurochirurgické oddělení, Nemocnice Na Homolce, Praha

Glioblastoma multiforme is a tumour of older age with a mean survival of about one year from diagnosis. When a brain tumour is

suspected, a CT scan is ordered in the case of a focal neurological deficit, following an epileptic seizure or when there are signs of

intracranial hypertension. Rarely, however, the tumour may go unnoticed with a subsequent sudden – and often no longer manageable

– deterioration of the condition with herniation of the brain tissue or obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid pathways. The case

report presents a patient with a glioblastoma who, despite maximum conservative treatment, progressed from severe headache

with a mild right-sided hemiparesis to complete brainstem areflexia during approximately three hours; a tumour was considered in

the diagnosis only second to a brain abscess given the patient's young age, intravenous drug use, elevated inflammatory markers

and a not completely typical CT finding.

Keywords: glioblastoma multiforme, malignant brain tumour, brain abscess

Published: December 31, 2010  Show citation