Table 1 Classification of brain stones according to location and aetiopathology
From: Brain stones revisited—between a rock and a hard place
Location/aetiology | Examples |
|---|---|
Extra-axial | Meningiomas, dural osteomas, calcifying tumours (e.g., craniopharyngiomas), calcifying pseudoneoplasms of the neuraxis (CAPNON), exaggerated physiological calcifications |
Intra-axial | |
Neoplastic | Oligodendrogliomas, medulloblastoma, germ cell tumours, primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNET), dysembryonic neuroectodermal tumours (DNET), gangliomas, pilocytic astrocytomas |
Vascular | Cavernous malformations, arteriovenous malformations, dystrophic calcification in chronic infarction, chronic vasculitis, aneurysms |
Infectious | TORCH (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex), tuberculosis, parasitic infections (e.g. neurocyticercosis, cerebral hydatid cyst disease) |
Congenital | Sturge-Weber syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, lipomas, neurofibromatosis |
Endocrine/metabolic | Fahr’s syndrome, hypoparathyroidism, pseudohypoparathyroidism, hyperparathyroidism |