Clinical characteristics and surgical treatment of spinal paraganglioma: a case series of 18 patients

As a kind of extra-adrenal neuroepithelial tumor and also termed as non-adrenal pheochromocytoma, paragangliomas originate from paraganglia cells of sympathetic or parasympathetic autonomic nervous systems, ultimately derived from the neural crest [1,2]. The majority of paragangliomas are benign and non-functional. However, with excessive secretion of catecholamine, they can become functional malignantl. Paragangliomas occur in the jugular glomus and the carotid bodies (80%-90% of cases), and other parts of the body, such as the middle ear, thyroid, gastrointestinal tract and pancreas [3].

Source: Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery - March 29, 2017 Category: Neurosurgery Authors: Mengchen Yin, Quan Huan, Zhengwang Sun, Shaohui He, Ye Xia, Wen Mo, Junming Ma, Jianru Xiao Source Type: research