Case Study presented by Sarah K. Crane and Bedatri Sinha, page 3

Final Diagnosis: Ganglioglioma

The MRI of the spine showed a lesion within the spinal cord at the level of the conus medullaris, between vertebrae T12 and L1. The surrounding cord showed signs of edema. A laminectomy of T12 and L1 was performed and a small mass was removed from the spinal cord.Gangliogliomas are benign tumors composed of neurons and ganglia,the majority of which arise in the cerebral hemispheres, especially the temporal lobe (74%). It accounts for 1% of all brain tumors. It has an equal sex distribution and the majority are detected in the first three decades of life. Epileptic seizures are the most common presenting symptom. Spinal gangliogliomas are rare and their border surrounding the CNS is indistinct. Features such as perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates, cyst formation and calcification are typical. These tumors are a highly variable mixture of glia and neurons. The glial component is most often astrocytic, but may be oligodendrocytic. The neurons are highly variable in size and shape with frequent multinucleation forming large bizarre structures.