Recovery from anterograde and retrograde amnesia after percutaneous drainage of a cystic craniopharyngioma.

A case is reported of a cystic craniopharyngioma involving the floor and walls of the third ventricle. Pronounced anterograde and retrograde amnesia were documented preoperatively by formal testing. Rapid improvement in both new learning capacity and remote memory occurred after percutaneous twist drill drainage of the cystic portion of the tumour. The relevance of these observations to the amnesic syndrome and its neuropathological basis is discussed.