Radiographic Indicators of Craniocervical Instability: Analyzing Variance of Normative Supine and Upright Imaging in a Healthy Population.

Study Design: Single-institution retrospective review.

Objective: To establish baseline ranges and variability of 7 radiographic measurements of the cervical spine in a healthy patient population as potential diagnostic tools for craniocervical instability.

Summary Of Background Data: Craniocervical instability, common in patients with connective tissue disease such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, often presents with a wide range of symptoms, including neck pain.

C1-2 hypermobility and its impact on the spinal cord: a finite element analysis.

Objective: The authors present a finite element analysis (FEA) evaluating the mechanical impact of C1-2 hypermobility on the spinal cord.

Methods: The Code_Aster program was used to perform an FEA to determine the mechanical impact of C1-2 hypermobility on the spinal cord. Normative values of Young's modulus were applied to the various components of the model, including bone, ligaments, and gray and white matter.

Relationship of Morphometrics and Symptom Severity in Female Type I Chiari Malformation Patients with Biological Resilience.

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.

Functional connectivity abnormalities in Type I Chiari: associations with cognition and pain.

There is initial evidence of microstructural abnormalities in the fibre-tract pathways of the cerebellum and cerebrum of individuals diagnosed with Type I Chiari malformation. However, it is unclear whether abnormal white matter architecture and macro-level morphological deviations that have been observed in Chiari translate to differences in functional connectivity. Furthermore, common symptoms of Chiari include pain and cognitive deficits, but the relationship between these symptoms and functional connectivity has not been explored in this population.

Adult Age Differences in Self-Reported Pain and Anterior CSF Space in Chiari Malformation.

Chiari malformation type I (CMI) is a neural disorder with sensory, cognitive, and motor defects, as well as headaches. Radiologically, the cerebellar tonsils extend below the foramen magnum. To date, the relationships among adult age, brain morphometry, surgical status, and symptom severity in CMI are unknown.

Impact of Surgical Status, Loneliness, and Disability on Interleukin 6, C-Reactive Protein, Cortisol, and Estrogen in Females with Symptomatic Type I Chiari Malformation.

Chiari malformation type I (CMI) provides an opportunity for examining possible moderators of allostatic load. CMI patients who had (n = 43) and had not (n = 19) undergone decompression surgery completed questionnaires regarding pain, disability, and loneliness, and provided serum samples for IL-6, CRP, estrogen, and free estradiol assays, and saliva samples to assess diurnal cortisol curves. ANOVAs examining surgical status (decompressed versus non-decompressed), loneliness (high vs.

Evidence of Neural Microstructure Abnormalities in Type I Chiari Malformation: Associations Among Fiber Tract Integrity, Pain, and Cognitive Dysfunction.

Background: Previous case-control investigations of type I Chiari malformation (CMI) have reported cognitive deficits and microstructural white matter abnormalities, as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). CMI is also typically associated with pain, including occipital headache, but the relationship between pain symptoms and microstructure is not known.

Methods: Eighteen CMI patients and 18 adult age- and education-matched control participants underwent DTI, were tested using digit symbol coding and digit span tasks, and completed a self-report measure of chronic pain.

Evidence for sex differences in morphological abnormalities in type I Chiari malformation.

Background And Purpose: Relatively little is known about the influence of individual difference variables on the presentation of macro-level brain morphology in type I Chiari malformation (CMI). The goal of the present study is to examine how case-control differences in Chiari are affected by patient sex.

Materials And Methods: Patient-provided magnetic resonance images were acquired through the Chiari 1000 database.

Type I Chiari malformation, RBANS performance, and brain morphology: Connecting the dots on cognition and macrolevel brain structure.

Background: Idiopathic descent of cerebellar tonsils into the cervical spine in Chiari malformation Type I (CMI) is typically associated with occipital headache. Accumulating evidence from experimental studies suggests cognitive effects of CMI. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between cognition and CMI using a battery of standardized neuropsychological and symptom inventory instruments.

An Electrophysiological Study of Cognitive and Emotion Processing in Type I Chiari Malformation.

Type I Chiari malformation (CMI) is a neurological condition in which the cerebellar tonsils descend into the cervical spinal subarachnoid space resulting in cervico-medullary compression. Early case-control investigations have indicated cognitive deficits in the areas of attention, memory, processing speed, and visuospatial function. The present study further examined cognitive and emotional processing deficits associated with CMI using a dual-task paradigm.