Brain Bites – Central Neurocytoma
Welcome to our new series, Brain Bites, where we are going to be making short videos featuring other physicians and learners explaining neuroradiology concepts in short, easily digestible bites. Hopefully these videos will give you some quick points so that you can become more effective at evaluating brain and spine imaging.
Today’s video is focused on central neurocytoma and is presented by Stefani Yates, a medical student at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Central neurocytoma is a heterogeneous mass which usually occurs in the frontal horn of the lateral ventricle along the septum pellucidum, or the then septation that separates the lateral ventricles. These masses are usually heterogeneous on T2, isointense or similar to gray matter on T1, and enhance heterogeneously and avidly. In this case you can see a mass in the left frontal horn along the septum pellucidum.
Patients can be asymptomatic or they may present with nonspecific features such as a headache, as this patient did. Treatment is usually surgical resection, or they can be conservatively managed.
The differential diagnosis includes:
- Ependymoma – an enhancing mass more common in the 4th ventricle
- Subependymoma – a ventricular mass which usually does not enhance
- Meningioma – a ventricular mass most common in the occipital horn which has more homogeneous enhancement.
So, if you see an intraventricular mass along the septum pellucidum, keep in mind central neurocytoma. Thanks for watching today!
