Brain edema associated with intracranial meningiomas

Brain edema associated with intracranial meningiomas was investigated on 80 patients, excluding recurrent cases. Statistically significant positive correlations with the degree of edema were found with large tumors, the convexity or parasagittal locations, the venous outflow disturbance, and the evidence of cortical disruption or peritumoral enhancement visualized on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imagings. Patients with a short clinical history and with angiographic evidence of hypervascularity tended to have edema, but there was no statistical significance. It is concluded that various factors are responsible for the edema associated with meningiomas and that it would be hard to determine the most important cause, since each factor plays a part edema production, spread, and resolution. (author)