Syringomyelia

 Disease pathophysiology: Syningomtelia is a rare disorder where cyst (fluid filled cavity or syrinx) is formed in the within the spinal cord, if it is left untreated then it may also elongates over time and destroys the spinal cord. Normally damage to the spinal cord leads loss of sensation in hands. Some patients may even experience paralysis either temporarily or permanently and the symptoms are headaches, a loss of the ability to feel extremes of hot or cold (especially in the hands), and loss of bladder and other functions. Statists: Patients' age ranged between 15 and 58 years, averaging 35.6 years. There was a slightly higher occurrence of female patients (32 cases) against 28 male patients. In terms of race, all patients were mulattos or white, except for two blacks.

 With respect to the patients' delivery conditions, 38 reported non-intercurrent full-term normal delivery or caesarian section, corresponding to 63.3% of cases. In all 60 cases of the study, the time between the disease evolution and treatment averaged 6.2 years, ranging between 6 months and 21 years of evolution. On examination, short neck and scoliosis were the malformations most frequently observed, at frequency rates of 56.6% and 454%, respectively. Symptoms present at the onset included writing and sewing difficulty (51.5%), cervical pain (26.6%), headache (20%), and hemiparesthesia (18.3%). Five patients submitted to electroneuromyograph that indicated signs of impaired anterior horn of the spinal cord, represented by fasciculations and giant potentials. 

 Eight patients were submitted to somatosensory evoked potential tests, most of them showed evidence of blocked or delayed proprioceptive impulse, thus suggesting posterior cordonal impairment. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected from 21 patients, (35%) during myelography. Analysis was normal in all cases. Treatment: The first and the best treatment for the Syningomtelia is surgery of the spinal cord. Surgery is not always recommended but sometimes radiation and analgesia is also used. To diagnose the disease diagnostics tests usually preferred are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI is the most reliable diagnostic tool for syringomyelia. In the past, a computer tomography (CT) scan or myelogram, which uses X-ray images with a constrast dye, were used to diagnose the disorder. Since the invention of the MRI, it is considered the gold standard for diagnosing syringomyelia. Research: Major Research on Syningomtelia in Brazil is conducted by Spine Research Grants.