They develop from cells that line both the hollow cavities of the brain and the canal containing the spinal cord, but they usually arise from the floor of the fourth ventricle, situated in the lower back portion of the brain, where they may produce headache, nausea and vomiting by obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This obstruction may also cause hydrocephalus. They may also arise in the spinal cord, conus medullaris and supratentorial locations. Other symptoms can include (but are not limited to): loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, temporary inability to distinguish colors, uncontrollable twitching, seeing vertical or horizontal lines when in bright light, and temporary memory loss. It should be remembered that these symptoms also are prevalent in many other illnesses not associated with ependymoma.About 10% of ependymomas are benign myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE). MPE is a localized and slow-growing low-grade tumor, which originates almost exclusively from the lumbosacral nervous tissue of young patients. On the other hand, it is the most common tumor of the lumbosacral canal comprising about 90% of all tumoral lesions in this region.Although some ependymomas are of a more anaplastic and malignant type, most of them are not anaplastic. Well-differentiated ependymomas are usually treated with surgery. For other ependymomas, total surgical removal is the preferred treatment in addition to radiation therapy. The malignant (anaplastic) varieties of this tumor, malignant ependymoma and the ependymoblastoma, are treated similarly to medulloblastoma but the prognosis is much less favorable. Malignant ependymomas may be treated with a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Waardenburg Syndrome Type 1 is a congenital disorder that caused by a mutation in the PAX3 gene that results in abnormal development in the neural crest during early development. Type 1 results in early graying and white forelock and a notable distance between the eyes, noted as dystopia canthorum. Common symptoms of the disease also includes non-progressive hearing loss in majority of patients with Type 1. Patients can display complete or partial heterochromia and hypoplastic blue irides and congenital leukemia. Presentation
Type 1 of the Waardenburg Syndrome’s notable feature is dystopia canthorum. Along with this feature, some patients eyelids are fused medially, resulting in medial sclerae. Inferior lachrymal is moved laterally, along with punctae opposite of the cornea. Other features include high and broad nasal root and also nasi hypoplasia. A squared jaw is reported in some patients. Others present with spina bifida due to the mutation in the neural crest during early development. Other features include the white forelock and graying that occurs in most patients prior to reaching age thirty. In extremely rare cases, the forelock may even be colored red rather than white. The coloring of the forelock may differ from patient to patient. It can appear at birth, or later in the life of those affected and size may vary. It is usually observed in the midline of the hair, but it can appear in other locations as well.