Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R A Rozario.
A 57 year-old white hypertensive male presented with a five-month history of progressive dementia and a clinical picture suggestive of normal pressure hydrocephalus. A CT scan and vertebral angiogram demonstrated an ectatic basilar artery obstructing the posterior third ventricle; the resulting hydrocephalus was relieved by a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt and the patient's symptoms resolved completely.
Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, despite its rare occurrence in Caucasians, is one further cause of cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy that should be included in the differential diagnosis. A recent case is reported.
When halo-pelvic traction is applied at a rapid rate it may induce cranial nerve palsies. The sixth, ninth, and tenth cranial nerves appear to be the most vulnerable. A proposed etiology is the stretching of these nerves resulting in a compromised blood supply with a consequent temporary paralysis which usually improves within 8 to 10 weeks.