Vertigo in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy

(1) Background: Cervical vertigo (CV) represents a controversial entity, with a prevalence ranging from reported high frequency to negation of CV existence. (2) Objectives: To assess the prevalence and cause of vertigo in patients with a manifest form of severe cervical spondylosis–degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) with special focus on CV. (3) Methods: The study included 38 DCM patients. The presence and character of vertigo were explored with a dedicated questionnaire. The cervical torsion test was used to verify the role of neck proprioceptors, and ultrasound examinations of vertebral arteries to assess the role of arteriosclerotic stenotic changes as hypothetical mechanisms of CV. All patients with vertigo underwent a detailed diagnostic work-up to investigate the cause of vertigo. (4) Results: Symptoms of vertigo were described by 18 patients (47%). Causes of vertigo included: orthostatic dizziness in eight (22%), hypertension in five (14%), benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in four (11%) and psychogenic dizziness in one patient (3%). No patient responded positively to the cervical torsion test or showed significant stenosis of vertebral arteries. (5) Conclusions: Despite the high prevalence of vertigo in patients with DCM, the aetiology in all cases could be attributed to causes outside cervical spine and related nerve structures, thus confirming the assumption that CV is over-diagnosed

Walk and Run Test in Patients with Degenerative Compression of the Cervical Spinal Cord

Impaired gait is one of the cardinal symptoms of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and frequently its initial presentation. Quantitative gait analysis is therefore a promising objective tool in the disclosure of early cervical cord impairment in patients with degenerative cervical compression. The aim of this cross-sectional observational cohort study was to verify whether an objective and easily-used walk and run test is capable of detecting early gait impairment in a practical proportion of non-myelopathic degenerative cervical cord compression (NMDCC) patients and of revealing any correlation with severity of disability in DCM. The study group consisted of 45 DCM patients (median age 58 years), 126 NMDCC subjects (59 years), and 100 healthy controls (HC) (55.5 years), all of whom performed a standardized 10-m walk and run test. Walking/running time/velocity, number of steps and cadence of walking/running were recorded; analysis disclosed abnormalities in 66.7% of NMDCC subjects. The DCM group exhibited significantly more pronounced abnormalities in all walk/run parameters when compared with the NMDCC group. These were apparent in 84.4% of the DCM group and correlated closely with disability as quantified by the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale. A standardized 10-m walk/run test has the capacity to disclose locomotion abnormalities in NMDCC subjects who lack other clear myelopathic signs and may provide a means of classifying DCM patients according to their degree of disability

Walk and Run Test in Patients with Degenerative Compression of the Cervical Spinal Cord

Impaired gait is one of the cardinal symptoms of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and frequently its initial presentation. Quantitative gait analysis is therefore a promising objective tool in the disclosure of early cervical cord impairment in patients with degenerative cervical compression. The aim of this cross-sectional observational cohort study was to verify whether an objective and easily-used walk and run test is capable of detecting early gait impairment in a practical proportion of non-myelopathic degenerative cervical cord compression (NMDCC) patients and of revealing any correlation with severity of disability in DCM. The study group consisted of 45 DCM patients (median age 58 years), 126 NMDCC subjects (59 years), and 100 healthy controls (HC) (55.5 years), all of whom performed a standardized 10-m walk and run test. Walking/running time/velocity, number of steps and cadence of walking/running were recorded; analysis disclosed abnormalities in 66.7% of NMDCC subjects. The DCM group exhibited significantly more pronounced abnormalities in all walk/run parameters when compared with the NMDCC group. These were apparent in 84.4% of the DCM group and correlated closely with disability as quantified by the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale. A standardized 10-m walk/run test has the capacity to disclose locomotion abnormalities in NMDCC subjects who lack other clear myelopathic signs and may provide a means of classifying DCM patients according to their degree of disability

ARE SUBJECTS WITH SPONDYLOTIC CERVICAL CORD ENCROACHMENT AT INCREASED RISK OF CERVICAL SPINAL CORD INJURY AFTER MINOR TRAUMA?

International audienceThe aim of the study was to analyse the risk of symptomatic myelopathy after minor trauma in patients with asymptomatic spondylotic cervical spinal cord encroachment (ASCCE). In a cohort of 199 patients with ASCCE, previously followed prospectively in a study investigating progression into symptomatic myelopathy, we now looked retrospectively for traumatic episodes that may have involved injury to the cervical spine. A questionnaire and data file analysis were employed to highlight whatever hypothetical relationship might emerge with the development of symptomatic myelopathy. Fourteen traumatic episodes in the course of a follow-up of 44 months (median) were recorded in our group (who had been instructed to avoid risky activities), with no significant association with the development of symptomatic myelopathy (found in 45 cases). Only 3 minor traumatic events without fracture of the cervical spine were found among the symptomatic myelopathy cases, with no chronological relationship between trauma and myelopathy. Furthermore, 56 traumatic spinal cord events were found before the diagnosis of cervical cord encroachment was established, with no correlation to either type of compression (discogenic versus osteophytic). In conclusion, the risk of spinal cord injury after minor trauma of the cervical spine in patients with ASCCE appeared to be low in our cohort provided risky activities in these individuals are restricted. Implementation of preventive surgical decompression surgery into clinical practice in these individuals should be postponed until better-designed studies provide proof enough for it to take precedence over a conservative approach

Presymptomatic spondylotic cervical myelopathy: an updated predictive model

Spondylotic cervical cord compression detected by imaging methods is a prerequisite for the clinical diagnosis of spondylotic cervical myelopathy (SCM). Little is known about the spontaneous course and prognosis of clinically “silent” presymptomatic spondylotic cervical cord compression (P-SCCC). The aim of the present study was to update a previously published model predictive for the development of clinically symptomatic SCM, and to assess the early and late risks of this event in a larger cohort of P-SCCC subjects. A group of 199 patients (94 women, 105 men, median age 51 years) with magnetic resonance signs of spondylotic cervical cord compression, but without clear clinical signs of myelopathy, was followed prospectively for at least 2 years (range 2–12 years). Various demographic, clinical, imaging, and electrophysiological parameters were correlated with the time for the development of symptomatic SCM. Clinical evidence of the first signs and symptoms of SCM within the follow-up period was found in 45 patients (22.6%). The 25th percentile time to clinically manifested myelopathy was 48.4 months, and symptomatic SCM developed within 12 months in 16 patients (35.5%). The presence of symptomatic cervical radiculopathy and electrophysiological abnormalities of cervical cord dysfunction detected by somatosensory or motor-evoked potentials were associated with time-to-SCM development and early development (≤12 months) of SCM, while MRI hyperintensity predicted later (>12 months) progression to symptomatic SCM. The multivariate predictive model based on these variables correctly predicted early progression into SCM in 81.4% of the cases. In conclusion, electrophysiological abnormalities of cervical cord dysfunction together with clinical signs of cervical radiculopathy and MRI hyperintensity are useful predictors of early progression into symptomatic SCM in patients with P-SCCC. Electrophysiological evaluation of cervical cord dysfunction in patients with cervical radiculopathy or back pain is valuable. Meticulous follow-up is justified in high-risk P-SCCC cases