[Progressive dysautonomia in hemangioblastoma in the region of the fourth ventricle].

Tumors of the posterior fossa presenting orthostatic hypotension are rare and only nine cases have been reported so far. The locations of almost all these tumors were near the fourth ventricle and three of them were hemangioblastoma. A case of a tumor of the fourth ventricle showing autonomic disturbances mainly composed of orthostatic hypotension is reported. A 42-year-old male was admitted to the Department of Neurology of Chiba University Hospital on June 25th, 1981 because of three years' history of autonomic disturbances including orthostatic syncope, impotence, urinary disturbance and bowel dysfunction such as vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. He also complained of weight loss and staggering of gait to the left side. On admission, the patient was emaciated being 50 kg in weight and 172 cm in height. Neurological examination revealed hippus of bilateral pupils in light reflex, saccadic eye movement, slightly hypoactive deep tendon reflexes, mild terminal oscillations in bilateral finger-to-nose test, oscillation in the left heel-to-knee test, staggering tendency of gait to the left, slightly impaired tactile and thermal sensations in distal parts of the legs. Autonomic disturbances were showed by orthostatic hypotension (BP 104-50 in supine and 70-40 in sitting position), impotence, weight loss, anorexia, decrease of sweating, spontaneous yawning and loss of sensation of bladder fullness. About 5 weeks after admission, he began to complain of temporal headache and showed impairment of memory, drowsiness, paroxysmal apnea and papilledema.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)