Gliomatosis cerebri. Clinical, neuropathological, immunohistochemical and morphometric Studies

Clinico-neuropathological findings recorded from one case of cerebral gliomatosis are reported in this paper. Immunocytochemical methods (GFAP, protein S-100) were used together with morphometric computer-assisted analysis for more effective investigation of certain cytopathological features such as the relationship between cerebral gliomatosis and low-graded astrocytoma. Immunohistochemically, most of the proliferating cells were positive to GFAP and/or to protein S-100, which was in fair agreement with publications elsewhere in the literature. However, varying amounts of spindle-shaped cells remained unstained. The nature of such cells is unclear. The morphometric study showed the majority of cellular parameters of cerebral gliomatosis to be comparable to cellular parameters recordable from "peripheral" regions of a series of low-grade astrocytomas.