Bilateral thalamic glioma

Abstract

Bilateral thalamic glioma is a rare type of primary thalamic tumor. It presents clinically with personality changes and dementia rather than mass effect or focal neurological deficit. Imaging findings are somewhat characteristic with the diffuse homogenous enlargement of bilateral thalami with altered attenuation or signal intensity on computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. This tumor is refractory to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and survival beyond 2 years after diagnosis is rare. This report emphasizes the need of neuroimaging in a patient with dementia to identify this rare devastating tumor early.

Keywords

• Dementia
• magnetic resonance imaging
• thalamic glioma