Intracranial Lipoma

About: Intracranial Lipoma is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 147 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2394 citations.

Giant intracranial lipoma.

Abstract: Intracranial lipomas are rare and usually benign in their course. We report a case of a giant intracranial lipoma presenting with raised intracranial pressure. Additionally, this patient was found to have a large lipoma of the anterior fontanelle. The clinical course and outcome of this patient is presented and relevant literature reviewed.

[Intracranial lipoma of the temporal lobe--report of a case and review of the literature].

Abstract: A 52-year-old female was admitted to our clinic with chief complaint of headache since 2 months ago. Plain computed tomography (CT) revealed low density mass in her right temporal lobe beneath the sylvian fissure with mean Hounsfield number of -52. On admission, no neurological deficit was found. This low density mass had no enhancement region. No abnormal finding was seen in plain skull roentgenogram and right carotid angiography. No epileptic pattern was found electroencephalographically. Right fronto-temporal craniotomy and total removal of tumor was performed to confirm the histological nature of this tumor. The tumor was elastic soft with yellowish color and totally removed. Histological examination revieled typical fatty cells and many capillaries. Her postoperative course was uneventful and was discharged with no neurological deficit. Intracranial lipoma is one of rare brain tumors with incidence of 0.03% or 0.046% in all brain tumor. These tumors are most frequently located in the midline structure, especially in the corpus callosum. After introduction of CT scan, however, lipomas of the extraaxial locations are also reported. From review of literature, location of the lipomas may be divided into 2 groups: the one is located in the midline or paramedian structures of the brain and the other is the extraaxial region such as the sylvian fissure or the cerebellopontine angle. The former group is often associated with anomalies of the central nervous system related to dysraphism. However, the latter group is seemed to have rare association with dysraphism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Craniofacial features resembling frontonasal dysplasia with a tubulonodular interhemispheric lipoma in the adult 3H1 tuft mouse.

Abstract: Intracranial lipomas are rare, but 45% of them occur along the midline cisterns between the hemispheres and are often associated with corpus callosum hypoplasia and craniofacial defects. They are difficult to detect as they are generally asymptomatic and visible by MRI or by postmortem examination. The exact cause of these interhemispheric lipomas is not known, but they arise from a developmental defect resulting in the maldifferentiation of mesenchymal cells into mesodermal derivatives that are not normally present. We have identified a new mouse mutant called tuft, exhibiting a forebrain, intracranial lipoma with midline craniofacial defects resembling frontonasal dysplasia (FND) that arose spontaneously in our wild-type 3H1 colony. The tuft trait seems to be transmitted in recessive fashion, but approximately 80% less frequent than the expected Mendelian 25%, due to either incomplete penetrance or prenatal lethality. MRI and histologic analysis revealed that the intracranial lipoma occurred between the hemispheres and often protruded through the sagittal suture. We also observed a lesion at the lamina terminalis (LT) that may indicate improper closure of the anterior neuropore. We have mapped the tuft trait to within an 18 cM region on mouse chromosome 10 by microsatellite linkage analysis and identified several candidate genes involved with craniofacial development and cellular differentiation of adipose tissue. Tuft is the only known mouse model for midline craniofacial defects with an intracranial lipoma. Identifying the gene(s) and mutation(s) causing this early developmental defect will help us understand the pathogenesis of FND and related craniofacial disorders.

A posterior fossa lipoma extending into the cervical spine and subcutaneous space via a cranium bifidum.

Abstract: We describe a 10-year-old boy with an intracranial lipoma in the posterior fossa. The patient had a subcutaneous tumor of the posterior neck at birth, which was gradually growing and subsequently accompanied by gait disturbance and ataxia. MR imaging revealed the intracranial lipoma in the posterior fossa extending into the cervical spinal canal and subcutaneous space via a cranium bifidum. A surgical operation was performed, but the lipoma could not be removed completely. He had had prominent obesity that might have caused not only enlargement of the intracranial lipoma but also neurological complications. Although intracranial lipomas are usually benign and asymptomatic, early detection of them is quite critical, and body weight control may help to prevent their progression.

Incidental fat in the dural sinuses.

Abstract: Sir, With the ever-increasing use of imaging, the finding of intracranial fat is a common occurrence. We have noted several cases of intracranial fat deposits being found in our routine clinical practice. These have occurred in patients who were being investigated for unrelated reasons and where the finding was purely an incidental one. We have recently found an unusual case of a large intracranial fat deposit occurring in the straight sinus (Figs. 1 and 2). Therefore, we would like to review the literature on this topic with a discussion of the differential diagnosis of intracranial fat, which we hope may prove useful when reporting such findings. Most deposits of intracranial fat are asymptomatic. In fact, prior to the introduction of CT and MRI, these lesions were only found incidentally at autopsies conducted for unrelated causes. Fat within the cranium is often presumed to indicate the presence of a fat-containing tumor such as a lipoma, dermoid cyst, epidermoid cyst or teratoma. In particular, deposits with the signal characteristics of simple fat are often assumed to be lipomas. However, such tumors are, in fact, rare. Lipomas account for less than 0.1% of all intracranial tumors. In 1975, New and Scott were the first to diagnose intracranial lipoma using CT [1, 2]. Then, in 1985, Kean demonstrated the first lipoma using MRI [1, 2]. Several hundred cases of intracranial lipomas have subsequently been reported in the world literature. Characteristically, the appearance of an intracranial lipoma on CT is that of a well-demarcated hypodense lesion, with a density typically of between −10HU and −100HU [3]. They may also have a calcified fibrous capsule and do not usually enhance after contrast [4]. There is no generally accepted theory of the development of intracranial lipomas. They are now predominantly accepted, not to be true tumors, but to be congenital anomalies, resulting from the abnormal persistence and mall differentiation of the menix primitiva, the mesenchymal anlage of the meninges [5]. They are found mainly in the midline and are often associated with other development anomalies. Over 50% of the cases are described to occur in the region of the corpus callosum. Other sites include the quadreminal cistern, ambient cistern, cerebello-pontine angle and pineal gland [6]. Furthermore, new sites of intracranial lipomas continue to be reported. Neuroradiology (2009) 51:787–788 DOI 10.1007/s00234-009-0547-2