Central tumour necrosis: a cause for the acute presentation of benign meningiomas

Occasionally, large benign intracranial tumours which have existed for many years present as a relatively acute problem. The mechanisms underlying the sudden change are sometimes unclear but infarction of the benign tumour, subsequent cerebral oedema and an increase in intracranial pressure have been reported. The authors describe such a case of focal infarction in a meningioma with a precise chronology of the clinical, radiological and pathologic findings.