Gliomas are the most common form of brain tumors, contributing to more than half of the incidence of brain tumors. They are derived from three basic types of glial cells: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells. The most frequent are diffusely infiltrating astrocytomas, further classified into astroytomas (A), anaplastic astrocytomas (AA) and glioblastoma, equivalent to World Health Or...

The objectives of this study were to determine the epidemiology of brain tumors during infancy and childhood and to define and segregate childhood brain tumors vis-a-vis their morphological characteristics. The present study includes pediatric brain tumors, ICD-10 category C71 encountered during 10 years (January 1989 through December 1998) at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Eighty one cas...

An approximately threefold increase in glycogenolytic activity of the neutral alpha-1,4-glucosidase and a twofold increase in the same activity of the acid isoform have been found in extracts of anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme tumors of brain tissue. "Maltase activity" of the respective enzymes increased by 60-80% in both kinds of tumor extracts. However a significant decreas...

Meningiomas and pilocytic astrocytomas are benign intracranial tumors. Pilocytic astrocytomas arises frequently at the posterior fossa in childhood. Meningiomas have several image findings, such as a dural tail sign, bony erosion, and sunburst appearance on angiography. However, pilocytic astrocytomas with these findings have been rarely reported. In this report, we describe a mass with typical...

A tumour presumed to be a juvenile glioma of the optic nerve was removed by a Kronlein procedure from a 4-year old boy in 1925. In 1973 a severe proptosis made it necessary to remove the atrophic eye and a large retro-ocular tumour. Histological examination, supported by electron microscopy, showed the second tumour to be an anaplastic pilocytic astrocytoma. The possible histogenesis and this u...