Spinal cord cavities: differential-diagnostic criteria in magnetic resonance imaging

Identifying Myelopathy Caused by Thoracic Syringomyelia: A Case Report

“…Of those studied, none have high sensitivity 23 , which is critical when attempting to rule out a serious condition like myelopathy. Diagnostic values of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are higher for detecting a variety of lesions that may cause myelopathy 21,23 , demonstrating a benefi cial contribution to making the appropriate diagnosis. However, tools such as the MRI must be used judiciously secondary to costs and must be targeted at the appropriate tissue to identify the abnormality.…”

“…Traditional upper and lower quarter screens feature a combination of sensibility, myotome, and neurological tests and may involve tests that quickly target functional activities. Physical exam fi ndings indicative of myelopathy may include numbness 19,21,24 , weakness 19,21,24 , spasticity 17,20,22,24 , and abnormal gait 4,10,17,20,22,24 . Neurological tests, including Hoff mann's sign, the Finger escape sign, and the Babinski's refl ex as well as the tests listed in Table 2, may also lend to suspicion of serious neurological disease, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and cervical spondylotic myelopathy.…”

“…Subjective complaints may include symptoms associated with upper motor neuron lesions such as changes in bowel or bladder control 1,19 , progressive extremity weakness 1,[19][20][21] , diffi culty walking 19 , and clumsiness 1 . Myelopathy is most common in the cervical spine 22,23 with consequential distribution of numbness throughout the arms and upper trunk 10,14 and diffi culty with fi ne motor coordination of the hands 10,24 .…”