Tarlov Cysts Masquerading as Peripheral Neuropathy

Baek, William S.; Rezania, Kourosh

doi:10.1001/archneur.63.12.1804

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Symptoms of this clinical entity depend on the affected nerve root and include the following: pain, numbness, cramps, tingling or decreased sensation in the sacrum, the perineum, the legs and the feet; neurogenic claudication; foot‐drop; neurogenic bladder symptoms (retention); bowel symptoms (constipation and abdominal pain); sexual dysfunction (dyspareunia, persistent genital arousal syndrome and impotence); and urinary and fecal sphincter disturbances . Patients typically have a debilitating incapacity to sit, which severely limits their employment and social activities…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This patient had TC on nerve root S1, S2, and S3 bilaterally and was suffering from paresthesia and numbness in the feet, gait difficulties and diminished sensation on pinprick in the legs and feet. However, the details of the NCS/EMG were not reported …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many case reports, as well as experience with large series, have been reported in the literature. Despite a considerable number of scientific publications, this clinical entity remains controversial, and TC are almost always thought to be unrelated to the patient's symptoms . Yet the pathological entity “symptomatic Tarlov cysts (STC),” is well defined and includes progressive debilitating sacral, ischial, and pelvic pain, neurological symptoms, bladder, sexual, and bowel disorders .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electromyographic Abnormalities Associated with Symptomatic Sacral Tarlov Cysts

et al. 2016

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Tarlov or perineural cysts (TC) are commonly overlooked as a cause of sacral and ischial pain, and urogenital and bowel problems. TC can be seen on MRI, but are often considered asymptomatic. This is especially true for smaller cysts. Moreover, there are only few diagnostic characteristics that can be used to confirm that the cysts are the cause of the symptoms. As a consequence, a lot of controversy remains regarding the clinical importance of TC. Because of this underdiagnosed condition, patients often suffer for several years from unrecognized chronic neuropathic pain and neurological conditions. In this article, case reports of three patients with giant and smaller symptomatic sacral cysts are presented, in which electromyographic testing was performed to demonstrate nerve damage. We suggest that electromyography of the sacral nerve roots can be a reasonable tool for the diagnosis of symptomatic TC, as well as for the differentiation from other pathological entities causing sacral and ischial pain. Moreover, using electromyography it was also documented that smaller cysts of < 1 cm can cause nerve damage. Therefore incidence of symptomatic TC may be higher than initially thought.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%