Abstract
Background/Aims. To evaluate optic nerve head with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with Chiari I malformation (CMI) compared to healthy controls. Methods. Cross-sectional study. OCT of the optic nerve head of 22 patients with CMI and 22 healthy controls was quantitatively analyzed. The healthy controls were matched for age and sex with the study population. Mean retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was calculated for both eyes; the mean thickness value was also registered for each quadrant and for each subfield of the four quadrants. Results. CMI patients showed a reduction of the RNFL thickness in both eyes. This reduction was more statistically significant (P < 0.05) for the inferior quadrant in the right eye and in each quadrant than nasal one in the left eye. Conclusion. A distress of the retinal nerve fibers could explain the observed reduction of the RNFL thickness in patients with CMI; in our series the reduction of the RNFL thickness seems lower when CMI is associated with syringomyelia.
Highlights
Chiari I malformation (CMI) is a rare congenital disorder recognized by caudal displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum and into the cervical canal [1]
magnetic resonance (MR) images were assessed for the presence of syringomyelia, a chronic disease of the spinal cord characterized by the presence of fluid-filled cavities and leading to spasticity and sensory disturbances
In six of the twenty-two patients at the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the cranial and spinal compartments a syringomyelia was detected; for this reason the patients were divided into two groups, the first one with CMI alone (Group A, sixteen patients) and the second group with CMI associated with syringomyelia (Group B, six patients)
Summary
Chiari I malformation (CMI) is a rare congenital disorder recognized by caudal displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum and into the cervical canal [1]. The mechanism for the development of the often associated syringomyelia is attributed to partial obstruction of the subarachnoid space at the foramen magnum due to the pulsatile impaction of the tonsils [2, 3]. The complex symptom patterns for CMI usually are late-onset and are related to the presence of an associated syrinx and/or the compression of neural structures at the cervicomedullary junction by the herniated tonsils [4]. Additional presenting symptoms include ocular, otoneurological, brainstem, and spinal cord disturbances [5]. This study aimed to observe the RNFL thickness through optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a consecutive series of patients with CMI compared with a control group
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
