Establishing the Physiology of Syringomyelia

Launched by NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS) · Nov 3, 1999

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The purpose of this study is to establish the mechanism of development and progression of syringomyelia. Although syringomyelia usually accompanies anatomic abnormalities at the craniocervical junction, the pathophysiology that relates these anatomic abnormalities to syringomyelia development and progression is controversial. We have been testing the hypothesis that progression of syringomyelia associated with the Chiari I malformation is produced by the cerebellar tonsils partially occluding the subarachnoid space at the foramen magnum and acting as a piston on the partially enclosed spina...

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Eligibility criteria

• * INCLUSION CRITERIA:
• To be eligible to participate in this research study, the subject must:
• • Be 18 years of age or older.
• • Have syringomyelia.
• • Have a lesion that narrows the space for spinal fluid at the base of the skull or neck. Prior surgery for syringomyelia does not result in exclusion from the study if there is radiographic evidence of a syrinx and there is evidence of neurological deterioration related to the syrinx.
• • Be able to give informed consent.
• EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
• The subject will not be eligible to participate in this research study if the subject:
• • Is pregnant (because X-rays might injure a fetus).
• • Cannot have an MRI scan as determined by the radiologist.
• • Has a problem with bleeding that cannot be corrected.
• • Is unable to understand the risks of the testing and surgical therapy.
• • Has a blood test for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) that is positive, because a positive HIV test would increase the risk of infection from research testing.