scholarly journals Hypoplasia of C1’s posterior arch: Is there an ideal anatomical classification?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 623
Author(s):  
Messias Gonçalves Pacheco Junior ◽  
Nicoly Augusta da Silva Quezada dos Santos ◽  
Raphael Tavares Ribeiro ◽  
Jose Alberto Landeiro ◽  
Bruno Lima Pessoa

Background: Congenital anomalies of the atlas are rare and usually occur in conjunction with other congenital variants. They include a wide spectrum of anomalies ranging from clefts to hypoplasia or aplasia of its arches that may contribute to spinal cord compressive syndrome. Case Description: A 54-year-old male presented with the sudden onset of a severe quadriparesis and loss of proprioception after a minor fall. The magnetic resonance (MR) scan showed cord compression at the C1 level attributed to C1 arch hypoplasia. Two months following a decompressive C1 laminectomy without fusion, and the patient was symptom free. Conclusion: Posterior C1 arch hypoplasia is a rare anomaly that can contribute to cervical cord compression and myelopathy. The optimal surgical management may include, as in this case, a posterior decompression without fusion.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 596
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Rahimizadeh ◽  
Parviz Habibollahzadeh ◽  
Walter L. Williamson ◽  
Housain Soufiani ◽  
Mahan Amirzadeh ◽  
...  

Background: Thoracic spinal cord compression due to both ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is rare. Case Description: A 33-year-old male with AS presented with a paraparesis attributed to MR documented T9-T10 OLF/stenosis. He was successfully managed with a decompressive laminectomy; this resulted in marked improvement of his deficit. Conclusion: Thoracic OLF and AS rarely contribute T9-T10 spinal cord compression that may be readily relieved with a decompressive laminectomy.


1973 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo E. Eidelberg

✓ Anesthetized, and unanesthetized decerebrate, cats were used to study the arterial pressor response to spinal cord compression. To produce a cervical compression it was necessary that the cervical cord be functionally connected to the thoracic cord, pressor response by the reverse was not true. A pressor response above 200 mm Hg systolic was associated with electrocardiographic (EKG) signs of left ventricular overload and ventricular ectopic beats. These changes were not prevented by atropine, hexamethonium, or propanolol. Both the pressor response and the EKG abnormalities were prevented by an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent. The authors conclude that alpha-adrenergically mediated arterial vasoconstriction is the effector mechanism in the pressor response to increased intracranial pressure or cord compression.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Yamamoto ◽  
Ryu Kurokawa ◽  
Phyo Kim

Object Regional blood flow is decreased in experimental models of chronic spinal cord compression, and the alteration presumably contributes to the development of myelopathy. Cilostazol (Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co.), a selective Type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, has been shown to be neuroprotective in cerebral hypoperfusion animal models and clinically effective in preventing the recurrence of cerebral infarction. To investigate the neuroprotective effect of cilostazol on cervical spondylotic myelopathy, the preventive effect against progressive motor dysfunction and the loss of anterior horn motor neurons were assessed using a chronic cord compression model in rats. Methods To produce chronic cervical cord compression in male Wistar rats, thin polyurethane sheets (3 × 5 × 0.7 mm) that gradually expand over 48–72 hours by absorbing water were implanted under the C5–6 laminae. In sham operations, the sheets were momentarily placed and then immediately removed. This model has been shown to reproduce characteristic features of clinical cervical myelopathy, with progressive motor disturbances after a latency period and insidious neuronal loss preceding the onset of symptoms. In the treatment group, cilostazol (30 mg/kg/day) was orally administered to the rats once a day, starting the day after surgery and continuing through the entire observation period of 25 weeks. In the control group, vehicle solution was administered under the same protocol. Changes in motor function were monitored by measuring bilateral forepaw grip strength and the duration of forced running on a treadmill. Twenty-five weeks after surgery, cervical spinal cords were examined histopathologically. Results Cilostazol preserved both forepaw grip strength and forced running capability. The drug also preserved anterior horn motor neurons in the C5–6 spinal cord segment, which diminished in number in the untreated chronic compression group. The drug decreased the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. Conclusions These results indicate that cilostazol is neuroprotective in the chronically compressed cervical cord and is potentially useful in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Noama Iftekhar ◽  
Abdullah Rasool ◽  
Irfan Khan

Background: Symptomatic compression of the cervical spinal cord by ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is rare. It typically involves the elderly and is particularly prominent in the Asian male population. Here, we present a 70-year-old Pakistani female who became quadriparetic due to OLF. Case Description: A 70-year-old female became increasingly quadriparetic over 3 months duration, but exhibited preservation of vibration and proprioception. The cervical magnetic resonance/computed tomography revealed dorsal OLF measuring 7 mm × 25 mm × 14 mm. Two months following a decompressive laminectomy, her symptoms fully resolved. Conclusion: Although rare in older patients, cervical OLF may contribute to significant cervical myelopathy characterized by a progressive quadriparesis that can be readily resolved with a decompressive laminectomy.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256732
Author(s):  
Toru Hirai ◽  
Koji Otani ◽  
Miho Sekiguchi ◽  
Shin-ichi Kikuchi ◽  
Shin-ichi Konno

Background Degenerative compressive myelopathy (DCM) is caused by cervical cord compression. The relationship between the magnitude and clinical findings of cervical cord compression has been described in the literature, but the details remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the magnitude and clinical symptoms of cervical cord compression in community-dwelling residents. Methods The present study included 532 subjects. The subjective symptoms and the objective findings of one board-certified spine surgeon were assessed. The subjective symptoms were upper extremity pain and numbness, clumsy hand, fall in the past 1 year, and subjective gait disturbance. The objective findings were: Hoffmann, Trömner, and Wartenberg signs; Babinski’s and Chaddock’s signs; hyperreflexia of the patellar tendon and Achilles tendon reflexes; ankle clonus; Romberg and modified Romberg tests; grip and release test; finger escape sign; and grip strength. Using midsagittal T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, the anterior–posterior (AP) diameters (mm) of the spinal cord at the C2 midvertebral body level (DC2) and at each intervertebral disc level from C2/3 to C7/T1 (DC2/3-C7/T1) were measured. The spinal cord compression ratio (R) for each intervertebral disc level was defined and calculated as DC2/3-C7/T1 divided by DC2. The lowest R (LR) along C2/3 to C7/T1 of each individual was divided into 3 grades by the tertile method. The relationship between LR and clinical symptoms was investigated by trend analysis. Results The prevalence of subjective gait disturbance increased significantly with the severity of spinal cord compression (p = 0.002812), whereas the other clinical symptoms were not significantly related with the severity of spinal cord compression. Conclusions The magnitude of cervical cord compression had no relationship with any of the neurologic findings. However, subjective gait disturbance might be a better indicator of the possibility of early stage cervical cord compression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafei Cao ◽  
Yihong Wu ◽  
Weiji Yu ◽  
Weidong Liu ◽  
Shufen Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Lower limb sensory disturbance presentation can be a false localizing cervical cord compressive myelopathy (CSM). It may lead to delayed or missed diagnosis, resulting in the wrong management plan, especially in the presence of concurrent lumbar lesions.Case presentation:Three Asian patients with lower limb sensory disturbances presentation were treated ineffectively in the lumbar. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed cervical disc herniation and cervical level spinal cord compression. Anterior cervical discectomy surgery and zero-p interbody fusion were performed. After operations, imagings showed that the spinal cord compression were relieved, and the lower limbs sensory disturbances were also relieved. Three-months follow-up after operation showed good recovery.Conclusions:These three cervical cord compression cases of lower limb sensory disturbance presentation were easily misdiagnosed with lumbar spondylosis. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion operation had a good therapeutic effect. Therefore, cases that present with lower limb sensory disturbance, but in a non-radicular classical pattern, should always alert a suspicion of a possible cord compression cause at a higher level.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Ali Al Kaissi ◽  
Rudolf Ganger ◽  
Klaus Klaushofer ◽  
Franz Grill

We report on a 13-year-old boy who presented with multiple hereditary exostosis and had development of back pain, associated with neurological deficits, and was found to have exostoses in the spinal canal. Spine radiograph showed a cauliflower-like abnormality of multiple exostoses of the posterior arch (pedicle) of the thoracic vertebrae (T3–5). Reformatted CT scanning revealed the simultaneous development of intra- and extraspinal osteochondromatosis of T3–5. The spinal cord was compressed by the intraspinal exostosis. Our patient was surgically treated for intraspinal exostoses and showed cessation of neurological deficits. We report what might be a rare association of spinal cord compression in a patient with multiple hereditary exostoses.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1008-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Paul Kolcun ◽  
Lee Onn Chieng ◽  
Karthik Madhavan ◽  
Michael Y. Wang

<p>Dynamic spinal cord compression has been investigated for several years, but until the advent of open MRI, the use of dynamic MRI (dMRI) did not gain popularity. Several publications have shown that cervical cord compression is both static and dynamic. On many occasions the evaluation of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is straightforward, but patients are frequently encountered with a significantly worse clinical examination than would be suggested by radiological images. In this paper, we present an extensive review of the literature in order to describe the importance of dMRI in various settings and applications. A detailed literature review was performed in the Medline and Pubmed databases using the terms “cervical spondylotic myelopathy”, “dynamic MRI”, “kinetic MRI”, and “myelomalalcia” for the period of 1980-2016. The study was limited to English language, human subjects, case series, retrospective studies, prospective reports, and clinical trials. Reviews, case reports, cadaveric studies, editorials, and commentaries were excluded. The literature search yielded 180 papers, 19 of which met inclusion criteria. However, each paper had evaluated results and outcomes in different ways. It was not possible to compile them for meta-analysis or pooled data evaluation. Instead, we evaluated individual studies and present them for discussion. We describe a number of parameters evaluated in 2661 total patients, including dynamic changes to spinal cord and canal dimensions, transient compression of the cord with changes in position, and the effects of position on the intervertebral disc. dMRI is a useful tool for understanding the development of CSM. It has found several applications in the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of many patients, as well as certain congenital dysplasias and Hirayama disease. It is useful in correlating symptoms with the dynamic changes only noted on dMRI, and has reduced the incidence of misdiagnosis of myelopathy.</p>


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