[Gliomatosis cerebri. Ante-mortem diagnosis]

Gliomatosis Cerebri is an unusual neoplastic entity that affects the central nervous system (C.N.S.); it consists of a marked proliferation of glial cells with variable degrees of differentiation in extensive areas of the brain and/or spinal cord. The process is primarily an infiltrative one rather than destructive. Most of the cases are diagnosed at autopsy. The authors report a new case of Gliomatosis Cerebri in a 46 year old woman, with a long clinical history--15 years--of focal seizures; and during the year prior to her admission: behavioral changes, vertigo, urinary incontinence and frequent falls. C.N.S. imaging revealed extensive involvement of the white matter of both cerebral hemispheres. Stereotactic guided biopsy showed a moderately cellular astrocytic neoplasm. A review of the medical literature led to the conclusion that the present case constitutes one of the very few examples in which the diagnosis of Gliomatosis Cerebri was achieved ante-mortem.