[Lipomatous hamartoma of the brain. Contribution to the problemacy of intracranial lipomas (author's transl)].

On the basis of an own observation of polyposis coli combined with lipomatous hamartoma of the corpus callosum problems of the genesis of lipomas of the central nervous system and its coverings are discussed. Colectomy was performed in a 37-year-old man because of polyposis coli. His sister suffers from the same disease. The patient died 25 d after the operation as a result of diffuse peritonitis. As an incidental finding, the autopsy revealed a lipomatous hamartoma with a diameter of approximately 1 cm. Histologically the growth showed the typical structure of a lipoma and contained a remarkably high number of blood vessels with proliferations of the intima and fibrosis of the walls. At the periphery small calcifications were demonstrated. In the adjacent brain tissue angiomatous proliferations of blood vessels were observed. Furthermore, disturbances of the gross structure of the gyri cinguli and other gyri of the median surface of the brain were found. The histological examination discovered marked irregularities of the single layers of the cerebral cortex. It is suggested that developmental and genetic factors might play a significant role in the genesis of lipomatous tumors of the CNS.