Advanced myelopathy in people with Down syndrome

Abstract

BackgroundMyelopathy is a condition that significantly impacts a person's mobility and independence. In people with intellectual disabilities, such as Down syndrome, the negative impact of myelopathy is magnified. Myelopathy in Down syndrome may be related to atlanto-axial instability or degenerative pathology. Our experience with these patients has led us to hypothesize that their myelopathy is commonly undiagnosed until very severe. In this study we seek to determine whether patients with Down syndrome present with more severe myelopathy than those without Down syndrome. MethodsWe performed a retrospective medical record review of patients with Down syndrome who were treated for myelopathy by the Tufts Neurosurgical Practice. Eight patients met the criteria and were graded for severity of myelopathy on the Nurick Scale. We compared the patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy and Down syndrome to patients who were treated for cervical spondylotic myelopathy as reported in Furlan et al. and Fehlings et al. ResultsThe average Nurick grade for patients with Down syndrome was 4.2 (SD 0.84, n=5). The average Nurick grade as reported by Furlan et al. was 2.8 (SD 0.68, n=81) and by Fehlings et al. was 3.14 (SD 0.97, n=278). The independent samples t-test resulted in a P value<0.000 and 0.016 with Furlan et al. and Fehlings et al. respectively. ConclusionsThe patients with Down syndrome in our study presented to neurosurgery with more severe myelopathy than patients without Down syndrome. It is important for physicians caring for people with Down syndrome to be aware of the presentation of myelopathy and consider the condition in the differential diagnosis of a Down syndrome patient with functional decline.