OBSERVATIONS ON STROKES AND CEREBRAL EDEMA WITH INTRACRANIAL TUMOURS

Four patients who suffered strokes were found at autopsy to have intracranial tumours remote from the region responsible for the stroke, but the relevant cerebral white matter was swollen, pale yellow, and manifestly edematous. It is inferred from these observations that strokes in the presence of cerebral tumours may be caused by rapid fluctuations in the extent and intensity of the edema surrounding the cerebral tumour.A fifth patient is reported with recurrent strokes associated with a glioblastoma multiforme. He showed many dramatic remissions associated with treatment with adrenocorticotrophic hormone and equally prompt relapses when treatment was stopped. Similar cases in the literature are referred to. It is suggested that these hormones decrease the cerebral edema and thus produce the remissions.