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Intracranial arachnoid cysts (IAC) are benign lesions containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Most of them are clinically silent and remain static in size. However some may present with mild and slow progressive symptoms caused by the cyst. The authors present the case of 54-year-old woman who presented with acute symptoms of severe headache, vomiting, and gait disturbance of 2 day’s duration. She had no history of head trauma. On admission, neurological examination revealed that the patient had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15, and a left side hemiplegia. A CT scan revealed a hypodense fluid collection in the right frontoparietal region that mimicked an arachnoid cyst. The symptoms were improved after an emergency marsupialisation via craniotomy.

Grisel’s syndrome is a rare complication that is characterized by non-traumatic atlantoaxial subluxation. It is most commonly seen in children after an upper respiratory tract infection or neck surgery, such as an adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy and mastoidectomy. Grisel’s Syndrome is characterized by torticollis and a limited range of motion of the neck with pain. Here the authors report a case of a Malian 5-year-old girl with Grisel’s syndrome following tonsillectomy. The patient’s complaints were fully resolved after 2 weeks of conservative treatment.

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) generally occurs in children and young adults and is classified as a low-grade astrocytic tumor with a potential favorable prognosis. But these data must be interpreted with much caution, because of some rapid progression or malignant transformation during the postoperative follow-up. We report herein a rare case of a cerebellar PXA manifested as a benign lesion at first time in a 39 year-old woman, but with malignant transformation two years later. In this paper, we discuss the clinical signs, radiological findings and the therapeutic data on the subject according to literature review.