Objective: Craniocervical junction morphology has been associated with Chiari malformation type I (CMI) symptom severity; however, little is known about its deterministic effect on surgical outcomes in patients across age and sex differences. The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of age and sex on surgical outcomes in CMI.
Methods: In the present study, the authors examined MRI-based morphometric data from 115 individuals diagnosed with CMI (54 adults including 39 women and 15 men, and 61 children including 24 girls and 37 boys) and correlated them with Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) scores obtained 1 year after posterior fossa decompression.
Background: Short-lasting cough-associated headache (CAH) in patients with Chiari I malformation (CMI) is believed to be due to transient worsening of cerebrospinal flow (CSF) obstruction at the foramen magnum. We assessed changes in CSF flow in response to coughing in CMI patients with CAH and compared with those without CAH and healthy participants (HPs) using real-time magnetic resonance imaging.
Methods: Seventeen CMI patients (12 with CAH, 5 without CAH) and 6 HPs were prospectively assessed using real-time pencil-beam imaging magnetic resonance sequence.
Background: General population normative values for the widely used health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure EORTC QLQ-C30 support the interpretation of trial results and HRQoL of patients in clinical practice. Here, we provide sex-, age- and health condition-specific normative values for the EORTC QLQ-C30 in the French general population.
Methods: French general population data was collected in an international EORTC project.
In the present study we report the relationship among MRI-based skull and cervical spine morphometric measures as well as symptom severity (disability-as measured by Oswestry Head and Neck Pain Scale and social isolation-as measured by the UCLA Loneliness scale) on biomarkers of allostatic load using estrogen, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and cortisol in a sample of 46 CMI patients. Correlational analyses showed that McRae line length was negatively associated with interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed joint effects of morphometric measures (McRae line length, anterior CSF space) and symptom severity (disability and loneliness) on estrogen and intereukin-6 levels. These results are consistent with allostatic load.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Posterior fossa decompression (PFD) surgery creates more space at the skull base, reduces the resistance to the cerebrospinal fluid motion, and alters craniocervical biomechanics. In this paper, we retrospectively examined the changes in neural tissue dimensions following PFD surgery on Chiari malformation type 1 adults.
Methods: Measurements were performed on T2-weighted brain magnetic resonance images acquired before and 4 months after surgery.