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. 2004 Mar 9;62(5):791-4.
doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000113746.47997.ce.

Clinical and neuroimaging features of "idiopathic" syringomyelia

E I Bogdanov  1 , J D Heiss, E G Mendelevich, I M Mikhaylov, A Haass
Affiliations

Clinical and neuroimaging features of "idiopathic" syringomyelia

E I Bogdanov et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

In some adult patients with cervical syringomyelia, MRI studies do not identify primary disease within the foramen magnum or spinal canal. To identify the etiology of this idiopathic type of syringomyelia, clinical features and posterior fossa (PF) measurements from 17 of these patients, 17 patients with Chiari I-type syringomyelia, and 32 control subjects were compared. Idiopathic syringomyelia and Chiari I-type syringomyelia manifested central cervical myelopathy and a small PF with narrow CSF spaces, suggesting that they develop by the same mechanism.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Syringomyelia in the absence of herniation of the cerebellar tonsils is evident on a sagittal slice T1-weighted MR image. Note the narrowing of the CSF pathways at the superior margin of the foramen magnum.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Measurements were taken from sagittal slice T1-weighted MR images as indicated in this drawing and included tonsillar herniation (T); posterior fossa height (h); Klaus index (Ki); pontomedullary height (pm); supraocciput (so); clivus (cl); Boogaard angle (B); cerebellum to opisthion (c); and ventral subarachnoid space (v); dorsal subarachnoid space (d); syrinx diameter (s); and Twining line (TL; tuberculum sellae to internal occipital protuberance).
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