Unprovoked pathological laughter has been associated with various lesions arising from the hypothalamus, cerebral hemispheres, and brainstem. We report a 57-year-old man who presented with episodes of involuntary laughter with increasing frequency over the course of more than 4 years. A large left petroclival meningioma was found. His involuntary laughter has completely subsided after surgical ...

Blood flow in the brain stem (BSBF) and cerebellum (CerBF) was investigated by positron emission tomography in 12 patients with petroclival tumors (study group) and 14 healthy volunteers (control group). (15)O-labeled water was used as the radioisotope tracer. BSBF and ipsilateral CerBF were significantly lower in the study group compared with the control group (p < 0.005). Five of 12 patients ...

BACKGROUND Lesions of the petroclival fissure are difficult to access surgically. Both retrosigmoid and presigmoid retrolabyrinthine approaches have been described to successfully treat these complex tumors. The retrosigmoid approach offers quick and familiar access, whereas the presigmoid retrolabyrinthine approach reduces the operative distance and the need for cerebellar retraction. The pres...