A new form of nystagmus is described in this paper: optic flow induced nystagmus (OFN). Optic field flow, for example when driving or viewing films on a large screen, triggered non-fatiguable upbeat nystagmus. This type of nystagmus could not be induced by vestibular stimuli, positioning, or self motion. The aetiology and anatomical correlate of OFN remains unknown. Treatment with gabapentin suppressed OFN. (+info)
Partial rhombencephalosynapsis and Chiari II malformation.
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We report a rare case of partial rhombencephalosynapsis coexistent with Chiari II malformation in a 6-year-old girl and discuss the features of these entities on magnetic resonance imaging. (+info)
Craniovertebral junction realignment for the treatment of basilar invagination with syringomyelia: preliminary report of 12 cases.
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Twelve selected patients, eight males and four females aged 14 to 50 years, with syringomyelia associated with congenital craniovertebral bony anomalies including basilar invagination and fixed atlantoaxial dislocation, and associated Chiari I malformation in eight, were treated by atlantoaxial joint manipulation and restoration of the craniovertebral region alignment between October 2002 and March 2004. Three patients had a history of trauma prior to the onset of symptoms. Spastic quadriparesis and ataxia were the most prominent symptoms. The mean duration of symptoms was 11 months. The atlantoaxial dislocation and basilar invagination were reduced by manual distraction of the facets of the atlas and axis, stabilization by placement of bone graft and metal spacers within the joint, and direct atlantoaxial fixation using an inter-articular plate and screw method technique. Following surgery all patients showed symptomatic improvement and restoration of craniovertebral alignment during follow up from 3 to 20 months (mean 7 months). Radiological improvement of the syrinx could not be evaluated as stainless steel metal plates, screws, and spacers were used for fixation. Manipulation of the atlantoaxial joints and restoring the anatomical craniovertebral alignments in selected cases of syringomyelia leads to remarkable and sustained clinical recovery, and is probably the optimum surgical treatment. (+info)
Bilateral vocal cord paralysis in newborns with neuraxial malformations--two case reports--.
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Two neonates presented with inspiratory stridor due to bilateral vocal cord paralysis associated with occipital encephalocele, Chiari malformation, and hydrocephalus in one patient, and cervical meningomyelocele and Chiari malformation in the other patient. The clinical symptoms dramatically regressed after repair of the encephalocele or meningomyelocele with no requirement for craniovertebral decompressive procedures or shunts in the acute phase. Careful evaluation of neonatal stridor and recognition of vocal cord paralysis are important, as treatment of associated congenital central nervous system anomalies is likely to achieve satisfactory surgical results. (+info)
Retropulsion and vertigo in the Chiari malformation: case report.
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We describe a rare case of a 30 year-old woman with intense vertiginous sensation, lack of body balance and a tendency to fall backwards, making it necessary for two people to sustain her. The magnetic resonance imaging of the craniocervical junction evidenced tonsilar herniation at the inferior level of C1, and during the operation performed in sitting position, we observed crowding of the cerebellar tonsils at the level of C3. After the osteo-dural-neural decompression, the symptomatology remitted on the same day of the operation. (+info)
Recurrent and chronic headaches in children below 6 years of age.
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The objective was to determine the frequency of headache subtypes, according to International Headache Society (IHS) criteria, in a population of children below 6 years visiting a Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Headache in Youth. Medical records of the children below 6 years at their first visit, admitted for headache between 1997 and 2003, were studied. Headache was classified according to the IHS criteria 2004. Children with less than three headache attacks or less than 15 days of daily headache were excluded. We found 1598 medical records of children who visited our Headache Center in the study period. One hundred and five (6.5%) were children younger than 6 years. The mean age at the first medical control was 4.8+/-1.3 years (range 17-71 months). There were 59 males (56.1%) and 46 females (43.9%). The mean age at onset of headaches was 4.3 years (range 14-69 months). According to the IHS criteria we found 37 cases (35.2%) with migraine, 19 cases (18%) with episodic tension headache, 5 cases (4.8%) with chronic daily headache, 13 cases (12.4%) with primary stabbing headache, 18 cases (17.1%) with post-traumatic headache, 7 cases (6.6%) with other non-dangerous secondary headaches (otorhinolaryngological diseases, post-infectious headaches), 3 cases (2.85%) with dangerous headaches (Arnold-Chiari type 1 malformation, brain tumour) and 9 cases (8.6%) with unclassifiable headaches. Six children (5.7%) reported more than one headache subtype. The prevalence of dangerous headaches was higher than those in school age (chi(2)=4.70, p<0.05). Our study shows some differences in headaches in this population vs. school children. In fact at this age migraine is the most common headache, but we also found an increase of secondary causes among the chronic/recurrent and daily headaches, especially posttraumatic disorders and potentially dangerous headaches. Finally our study shows the highest prevalence of the idiopathic stabbing headache in pre-school children in comparison with other ages. (+info)
Recording CSF pressure with a transducer-tipped wire in an animal model of Chiari I.
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In dogs, a wire with a pressure-sensitive transducer was inserted percutaneously into the subarachnoid space and manipulated under fluoroscopic monitoring in the posterior fossa or upper cervical spinal canal. Pressure recordings from the wire showed fluctuations in pressure corresponding to the cardiac cycle. When a balloon was distended in the foramen magnum, maximum and minimum pressures increased. Continuous monitoring of CSF pressure remote from the site of cannulation was feasible with a wire-based pressure transducer. (+info)
Arnold Chiari type 1 malformation presenting with sleep disordered breathing in well children.
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Healthy children, aged 3, 9, and 13 years referred with sleep disordered breathing had marked central apnoea and bradypnoea on polysomnography, necessitating the use of non-invasive bilevel ventilation in two cases. Each had normal neurological examinations and an Arnold Chiari type 1 malformation was confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging. All underwent urgent posterior fossa decompression which normalised their sleep breathing. (+info)