Syringomyelia as a complication of Paget's disease. Case report

Association between craniovertebral junction abnormalities and syringomyelia in patients with chiari malformation type-1

Objectives:

To assess the correlation between craniovertebral junction (CVJ) abnormalities and syringomyelia in patients with Chiari malformation type-1 (CM1).

Methods:

This was a retrospective study including patients with CM1. Identification of cases was done by searching a radiology database at a university hospital from 2012 to 2017. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on whether CVJ abnormalities were present (CVJ+) or absent (CVJ-). The patients’ demographic and clinical data were reviewed. All magnetic resonance imaging studies were examined by a certified neuroradiologist.

Results:

Sixty-four consecutive patients with CM1 were included. The mean age was 24±17 years; 59% were females. The CVJ+ group had more female patients (p = 0.012). The most frequent CVJ abnormality was platybasia (71%), followed by short clivus (44%) and cervical kyphosis (33%). The CVJ abnormalities were more in Syringomyelia cases (p = 0.045). However, the results were not significant when hydrocephalus cases were excluded.

Conclusion:

Among CM1 patients, CVJ abnormalities were found more in patients with syringomyelia. Future studies with larger sample size are required to further study the correlation between CVJ abnormalities and both syringomyelia and hydrocephalus in CM1 patients.

Syringomyelia associated with Paget disease of the skull

A 38-year-old man presented with a rare case of syringomyelia associated with Paget disease of the skull. Syringosubarachnoid (SS) shunting was performed. We speculate that deformation of the skull secondary to Paget disease caused narrowing of the foramen magnum with progressive impairment of the cerebrospinal fluid circulation, which led to syringomyelia and neurological symptoms. SS shunting is safe, effective, and technically simple, so may be a useful initial treatment for syringomyelia associated with Paget disease of the skull.

Craniovertebral junction abnormalities with hindbrain herniation and syringomyelia: regression of syringomyelia after removal of ventral craniovertebral junction compression

Object

Hindbrain herniation syndrome, or Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I), occurs frequently with craniovertebral junction (CVJ) abnormalities when there is reduction in the posterior fossa volume. Syringomyelia is often present. Posterior fossa dorsal decompression (PFDD) is typically performed but has adverse results when ventral bone abnormality exists. This paper presents the results of a prospective study on CVJ abnormalities in patients with CM-I and syringomyelia.

Methods

Between 1984 and 2008 (the MR imaging era), 298 patients with CVJ abnormalities and CM-I underwent ventral cervicomedullary decompression. Eighty-four patients had associated syringomyelia (15 with secondary invagination and 69 with primary basilar invagination, os odontoideum, or malunion of fractures). Of these 84 patients with CVJ abnormalities, CM-I, and syringomyelia, 46 had previously undergone PFDD, and 28 had previously undergone PFDD combined with fusion procedures or shunt placements. Of the 84 patients, a cervicothoracic syrinx was observed in 57, thoracic syrinx in 14, and holocord syrinx in 13. Studies included CT, MR imaging, and cine flow studies. All 298 patients who underwent ventral CVJ decompression had irreducible or partially reducible pathology. All 84 with syringomyelia showed brainstem dysfunction, lower cranial nerve symptoms, or myelopathy.

Results

Brainstem signs improved in 66 of the 84 patients, myelopathy improved in 58, and syringomyelia regressed in 64.

Conclusions

Neurological improvement and syringomyelia resolution can occur using only ventral cervicomedullary junction decompression in patients with basilar invagination and basilar impression. This is likely due to the relief of neural encroachment and reestablishment of CSF pathways.

Mechanisms of cerebellar tonsil herniation in patients with Chiari malformations as guide to clinical management

BACKGROUND

The pathogenesis of Chiari malformations is incompletely understood. We tested the hypothesis that different etiologies have different mechanisms of cerebellar tonsil herniation (CTH), as revealed by posterior cranial fossa (PCF) morphology.

METHODS

In 741 patients with Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) and 11 patients with Chiari malformation type II (CM-II), the size of the occipital enchondrium and volume of the PCF (PCFV) were measured on reconstructed 2D-CT and MR images of the skull. Measurements were compared with those in 80 age- and sex-matched healthy control individuals, and the results were correlated with clinical findings.

RESULTS

Significant reductions of PCF size and volume were present in 388 patients with classical CM-I, 11 patients with CM-II, and five patients with CM-I and craniosynostosis. Occipital bone size and PCFV were normal in 225 patients with CM-I and occipitoatlantoaxial joint instability, 55 patients with CM-I and tethered cord syndrome (TCS), 30 patients with CM-I and intracranial mass lesions, and 28 patients with CM-I and lumboperitoneal shunts. Ten patients had miscellaneous etiologies. The size and area of the foramen magnum were significantly smaller in patients with classical CM-I and CM-I occurring with craniosynostosis and significantly larger in patients with CM-II and CM-I occurring with TCS.

CONCLUSIONS

Important clues concerning the pathogenesis of CTH were provided by morphometric measurements of the PCF. When these assessments were correlated with etiological factors, the following causal mechanisms were suggested: (1) cranial constriction; (2) cranial settling; (3) spinal cord tethering; (4) intracranial hypertension; and (5) intraspinal hypotension.

Trigeminal neurinoma associated with Chiari malformation and syringomyelia

We report a 36 year-old woman who presented with headaches and hypoesthesia of the face. MRI revealed a large dumbbell shaped trigeminal neurinoma extending into both the middle and the posterior cranial fossae. In addition, there was a Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia. Within two months of tumor resection, both the Chiari malformation and the syringomyelia resolved. The association of an intracranial space-occupying lesion with Chiari malformation and syringomyelia is reviewed.

Principles of management of osteometabolic disorders affecting the aging spine

Osteoporosis is the most common contributing factor of spinal fractures, which characteristically are not generally known to produce spinal cord compression symptoms. Recently, an increasing number of medical reports have implicated osteoporotic fractures as a cause of serious neurological deficit and painful disabling spinal deformities. This has been corroborated by the present authors as well. These complications are only amenable to surgical management, requiring instrumentation. Instrumenting an osteoporotic spine, although a challenging task, can be accomplished if certain guidelines for surgical techniques are respected. Neurological deficits respond equally well to an anterior or posterior decompression, provided this is coupled with multisegmental fixation of the construct. With the steady increase in the elderly population, it is anticipated that the spine surgeon will face serious complications of osteoporotic spines more frequently. With regard to surgery, however, excellent correction of deformities can be achieved, by combining anterior and posterior approaches. Paget's disease of bone (PD) is a non-hormonal osteometabolic disorder and the spine is the second most commonly affected site. About one-third of patients with spinal involvement exhibit symptoms of clinical stenosis. In only 12-24% of patients with PD of the spine is back pain attributed solely to PD, while in the majority of patients, back pain is either arthritic in nature or a combination of a pagetic process and coexisting arthritis. In this context, one must be certain before attributing low back pain to PD exclusively, and antipagetic medical treatment alone may be ineffective. Neural element dysfunction may be attributed to compressive myelopathy by pagetic bone overgrowth, pagetic intraspinal soft tissue overgrowth, ossification of epidural fat, platybasia, spontaneous bleeding, sarcomatous degeneration and vertebral fracture or subluxation. Neural dysfunction can also result from spinal ischemia when blood is diverted by the so-called "arterial steal syndrome". Because the effectiveness of pharmacologic treatment for pagetic spinal stenosis has been clearly demonstrated, surgical decompression should only be instituted after failure of antipagetic medical treatment. Surgery is indicated as a primary treatment when neural compression is secondary to pathologic fractures, dislocations, spontaneous epidural hematoma, syringomyelia, platybasia, or sarcomatous transformation. Five classes of drugs are available for the treatment of PD. Bisphosphonates are the most popular antipagetic drug and several forms have been investigated.

Association of the Adult Chiari Malformation and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: more than a coincidence

There are significant similarities between the Adult Chiari Malformation (ACM) and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH). They include similar demographics, clinical presentation, and response to treatment. There is an eightfold increase in the incidence of significant tonsillar herniation in patients with IIH. Based on these findings and our observation in a subgroup of patients with failed ACM decompression, we suggest that these disorders are interrelated in a group of patients. The physiopathology is that of craniocephalic disproportion, i.e., a disproportion between the skull and the brain, due to a small skull or posterior fossa (like in ACM) and/or an engorged brain (like in IIH). This will occasionally lead to tonsillar ectopia. The craniocephalic disproportion will alter the brain compliance and lead to the symptomatology.

Definition of the adult Chiari malformation: a brief historical overview

With the widespread use of newer neuroimaging techniques and modalities, significant tonsillar herniation is being diagnosed in more than 0.5% of patients, some of whom are asymptomatic. This puts the definition of the adult Chiari malformation to the test. The author provides a historical review of the evolution of the definition of the adult Chiari malformation in the neurosurgery, radiology, and pathology literature.

Resolution of tonsillar herniation and syringomyelia after supratentorial tumor resection: case report and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE

The pathophysiological features of syringomyelia are not yet entirely understood. We present a case of a supratentorial mass causing tonsillar herniation and syringomyelia.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

A 51-year-old woman underwent magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of progressive headaches. A large parieto-occipital mass was revealed. Herniation of the cerebellar tonsils and a cervical syrinx were also noted.

INTERVENTION

A craniotomy was performed without incident. After tumor resection, the tonsils ascended and the syrinx resolved in a 1-year period.

CONCLUSION

This case highlights the importance of tonsillar herniation in the pathogenesis of syringomyelia. "Acquired" Chiari malformations and syringomyelia attributable to supratentorial masses may be treated by mass resection alone, without the need for foramen magnum decompression.

Syringomyelia persistence after Chiari decompression as a result of pseudomeningocele formation: implications for syrinx pathogenesis: report of three cases

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE

We present the cases of three patients in whom pseudomeningocele (PSM) formations after posterior fossa decompression of hindbrain herniations (Chiari I malformations) were associated with persistence of syringomyelia. The physiological importance of correcting this complication has not been previously described.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

We identified three patients who developed suboccipital PSMs after undergoing posterior fossa decompression for hindbrain herniations and syringomyelia. All three patients experienced persistence of their symptoms and their syringomyelia, despite adequate posterior fossa decompression.

TECHNIQUE

Subsequent exploration revealed cerebrospinal fluid leaking either from the dural suture line (one patient) or from perforations found within the bed of a polyglactin mesh dural graft (two patients). Correction of the PSM resulted in resolution of both the syringomyelia and the symptoms in all three patients.

DISCUSSION

The persistence of syringomyelia in the presence of a PSM may be the result of dissipation of the cerebrospinal fluid systolic pressure wave into the distensible PSM cavity. This phenomenon suggests that the cerebrospinal fluid pressure exerted on the spinal cord surface favors resolution of the syrinx cavity.

Syringohydromyelia as a complication of Goldenhar syndrome

Goldenhar syndrome is a multifocal developmental disorder consisting of ocular, auricular and vertebral anomalies. A case of Goldenhar syndrome is presented with a previously undescribed association with syringohydromelia. The pertinent literature is reviewed and possible mechanisms of the pathogenesis of syringohydromyelia in this syndrome are discussed.