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Images in Neuroscience| Volume 110, P4-6, April 2023

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Meningioangiomatosis: A rare epileptogenic brain lesion

  • Moustafa A. Mansour
    Correspondence
    Corresponding author.
    Affiliations
    Department of Neurology and Neurologic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Department of Neurology and Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Division of Neuro-Intensive Care, Dar Al-Fouad Medical Corporation, Cairo, Egypt

    Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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  • Yehia Moawad
    Affiliations
    Department of Neurology and Neurologic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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  • Hassan Ali
    Affiliations
    Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Division of Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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      Highlights

      • Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare meningiovascular hamartomatous lesion involving the central nervous system.
      • MA only comprises 0.6% of operated-on intractable epileptic lesions.
      • Besides its rarity, MA poses a major significant radiologic challenge with several potential differentials.
      • A definitive diagnosis of MA is typically made based on histopathological evaluation.
      • Small vessel proliferation, meningeal perivascular cuffing, and scattered calcifications are typical hallmarks of MA lesions.
      • MA is typically treated with en bloc surgical resection, with 100% seizure control if the maximum safe resection is achieved.

      Graphical abstract

      Abbreviations:

      CT (computed tomography), GRE (gradient recalled echo), H&E (hematoxylin and eosin), MA (meningioangiomatosis), MR (magnetic resonance), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), NF (neurofibromatosis), T1WI (T1-wighted imaging), T2WI (T2-weighted imaging)

      1. Case presentation

      A previously healthy-seven-year-old boy presented with a ten-day history of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Physical examination, laboratory studies, and EEG were unremarkable. Brain CT and MRI studies showed an intra-axial, calcified lesion, with surrounding edema, located in the left insular region (Fig. 1, A–D). Imaging features suggested several potential diagnoses such as meningioma, meningioangiomatosis (MA), glioneuronal tumor, glioma, cavernoma, and other vascular pathologies; however, we favored MA as the most likely diagnosis after evaluating typical imaging characteristics of these various pathologies. Therefore, a diagnosis of MA was suggested. Due to the lack of specified guidelines for the management of MA, we discussed with the patient’s guardians the management options we provide for such cases at our institution, including starting with antiepileptic medications with regular follow-ups or proceeding with surgery from the beginning. They opted for the surgical option, and because of the critical location of the lesion (being located in the dominant hemisphere close to critical eloquent areas), we proceeded with an awake craniotomy (also known as awake brain surgery), in which the lesion was fully removed via an en bloc resection. Histopathological evaluation of the resected mass showed marked fibrosis and thickening of the leptomeninges, made up of delicate fibroblasts with nuclei regularly distributed amid fine collagen fibers arranged in various directions, in addition to several areas of calcification along with a number of blood vessels being scattered throughout the lesion (Fig. 1, E). The most prominent finding from the histopathological evaluation was the extensive fibrotic scaffold of the lesion, which was better visualized via Masson’s trichrome staining technique (Fig. 1, E*). Collectively, these findings were typically consistent with the diagnosis of Meningioangiomatosis. Post-operative imaging demonstrated a full clean resection of the mass, with no left-over remnants, and the involved brain area appeared less edematous compared to pre-operative scans (Fig. 1, F). The patient was then followed-up for 12 months, during which; he did not exhibit any seizure activity with clear evidence of achieving 100 % seizure control.
      Figure thumbnail gr1
      Fig. 1Neuroradiological and Histopathological Findings. (A) Axial CT image shows an intra-axial calcified nodular lesion, associated with adjacent moderate vasogenic edema, located in the left posterior insular cortex/ subcortical tissue, subjacent to the left Sylvian fissure. (B) Axial T1-weighted MR image demonstrates an ill-defined, isointense mass, with surrounding edema, located in the left posterior insular region. (C) MR axial T2-weighted image that better demonstrates the edema involving the left temporal and insular regions, and the signal loss from the calcified lesion. (D) Axial T2* gradient echo MR image demonstrates a hypointense lesion, with irregular nodular contours, adjacent to the cortex in the insular region. (E) Histopathological images of the resected mass displaying thick leptomeninges interfacing with the cerebral cortex. The most striking feature of the specimen was the marked fibrosis and thickening of the leptomeninges (better visualized through Masson’s trichrome *), made up of delicate fibroblasts with nuclei regularly distributed amid fine collagen fibers arranged in various directions. Arteries and veins in increased numbers are seen sparsely amid the fibrosis, which penetrates the sulci. Few inflammatory cells are observed, mostly lymphocytes. (F) Post-operative axial CT image shows a hypodense area in the left insular region consistent with the prior area occupied by the MA lesion. The left temporal and frontal lobes demonstrate less vasogenic edema compared to the pre-operative scans.

      2. Case discussion

      Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare, poorly studied hamartomatous or meningiovascular lesion involving the central nervous system [
      • Roux A.
      • Zanello M.
      • Mancusi R.L.
      • Still M.E.H.
      • Nascimento F.A.
      • Tauziede-Espariat A.
      • et al.
      Meningioangiomatosis: multimodal analysis and insights from a systematic review.
      ]. MA is generally divided into a sporadic subtype and a neurofibromatosis-associated subtype. A focused clinical examination of our patient did not reveal any Neurofibromatosis (NF)-associated signs or symptoms, and genetic screening for NF mutations revealed a normal variant. Therefore, a diagnosis of sporadic meningioangiomatosis (MA) was made. One of the most common presentations of the sporadic subtype is headache and seizures, which typically occur in children or young individuals [
      • Sun Z.
      • Jin F.
      • Zhang J.
      • Fu Y.
      • Li W.
      • Guo H.
      • et al.
      Three cases of sporadic meningioangiomatosis with different imaging appearances: case report and review of the literature.
      ]. Besides its rarity, MA poses a major significant radiologic challenge. The main differentials of MA include meningiomas, glioneuronal tumors, gliomas, cavernous malformations, and other vascular pathologies. Meningioma is usually of a pachymeningeal origin, and frequently presents with thickening of the adjacent dura (dural tail sign), rather than as a cortical/subcortical lesion. Gliomas (e.g., oligodendroglioma) and glioneuronal tumors (e.g., ganglioglioma) are intra-axial tumors which may be frequently calcified and thus resemble the appearance of MA. However, a typical oligodendroglioma presents as a mass in the cortex or subcortical white matter with low attenuation on CT, hypointense signal on T1WI, and hyperintense signal on T2WI. Ganglioglioma usually exhibits a variable appearance ranging from a partially cystic lesion with an enhancing mural nodule (∼50 % of cases) to a solid mass expanding the overlying gyrus. Venous vascular malformation or cavernous malformation can involve any brain region, including the cortical/subcortical areas. However, on both T1WI and T2WI, they are usually of a heterogeneous appearance because of the presence of hemorrhage of different ages with a characteristic surrounding hypointense rim on T2WI and GRE images due to hemosiderin deposition. None of these features is evident in this patient’s images, supporting our preliminary diagnosis of MA. The most typical MA’s clinical and imaging scenario is of a young patient with frequent headache and difficult-to-control seizure episodes, who presents with a calcified intra-axial lesion identified on CT with a puzzling nodular appearance on MR imaging. The histopathological hallmarks of MA lesions include a proliferation of small vessels within the cortex, with a concentric perivascular proliferation of the spindle-shaped meningeal cells with extensive fibrosis (perivascular cuffing). Calcification is seen in most cases with MA (∼90 %), and psammoma bodies can be visualized with a scattered pattern in some cases. MA is a slow-growing benign lesion with no malignant potential; therefore, the prognosis is generally excellent following a maximum safe surgical excision, with the ultimate goal being to achieve seizure control for the patient [
      • Sun Z.
      • Jin F.
      • Zhang J.
      • Fu Y.
      • Li W.
      • Guo H.
      • et al.
      Three cases of sporadic meningioangiomatosis with different imaging appearances: case report and review of the literature.
      ].

      3. Take home points

      • Meningioangiomatosis should be considered as a diagnosis (or at least in the differential diagnosis) if the patient has the characteristic triad of young age of onset, epileptic attacks (generalized tonic-clonic seizures), and imaging findings of a cortical/subcortical calcified lesion (with hypointensity on T2WI and hypointensity to signal loss on GRE image).
      • Meningioangiomatosis is typically treated with en bloc surgical resection, with 100 % seizure control. Expanded excision of the surrounding brain tissue is not usually required. With a clean full resection, adjuvant therapy is not usually needed, and recurrence does not typically occur.

      4. Ethics approval and consent to participate

      The approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Al-Azhar University Hospitals [REF. HSZ-000015236]. The patient’s guardians gave a written informed consent to publish the case and any related data.

      5. Contribution

      M.M. was responsible for the conception of the work, data collection, drafting the article, critical revisions, illustrating the figures, and obtaining approval of the final version of the manuscript. Y.M. contributed by drafting the article, and critical revisions. H.A. contributed by critical revisions of the article. All authors read the final manuscript and were involved in direct patient care.

      Funding

      None declared.

      Competing interests

      None declared.

      Acknowledgements

      The authors would like to thank Dr. Terry C. Burns (Mayo Clinic, USA), Dr. Dyana F. Khalil (Dubai Healthcare City, UAE), Dr. Ahmad A. Ayad (Al-Azhar University Hospitals, Egypt), Dr. Abdou Hamdi (Al-Azhar University Hospitals, Egypt), Dr. Mahmoud Bayoumi (Al-Azhar University Hospitals, Egypt), and Dr. Mohab A. Hasham (Al-Azhar University Hospitals, Egypt) for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

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