A Study of Aminolevulinic Acid Used to Enhance Visualization and Surgical Removal of Brain Tumors

In this study subjects will be administered a single oral dose of Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA) prior to surgical resection of their brain tumor. The ALA ultimately causes brain tumor tissue to fluoresce or light up under ultraviolet light. During surgery an ultraviolet light in the microscope chain will be turned on. The tumor tissue will fluoresce bright pink allowing the surgeon to more easily differentiate tumor tissue from normal brain tissue. The aim of the study is to determine whether ALA and fluorescent visualization of tumor tissue improves the surgeon's ability to completely resect or remove the brain tumor.