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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of acute spinal cord compression injury on regional spinal cord blood flow in primates.

Spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) was measured in 24 rhesus monkeys after injury to the cord produced by the inflatable circumferential extradural cuff technique. Measurement of regional blood flow in the white and gray matter of the cord in areas of 0.1 sq mm was achieved with the 14C-antipyrine autoradiographic technique and a scanning microscope photometer. After moderate cord injury (400 mm Hg pressure in the cuff maintained for 5 minutes), which produced paraplegia in 50% of animals and moderate to severe paresis in the other 50%, mean white matter SCBF was significantly decreased for up to 1 hour. White matter blood flow then rose to normal levels by 6 hours posttrauma and was significantly increased by 24 hours posttrauma. Gray matter SCBF was significantly decreased for the entire 24-hour period posttrauma. After severe cord injury (150 mm Hg pressure in the cuff maintained for 3 hours), which produced total paraplegia in almost all animals; SCBF in white and hours), which prodced total paraplegia in almost all animals, SCBF in white and gray matter was reduced to extremely low levels for 24 hours posttrauma. In addition, focal decreases in SCBF were seen in white and gray matter for considerable distances proximal and distal to the injury site. It is concluded that acute compression injury of the spinal cord is associated with long-lasting ischemia in the cord that increases in severity with the degree of injury.

Acute Disease

Reversibility of changes in evoked spinal response following graded spinal cord compression.

The spinal evoked response obtained in cats at a site immediately rostral to the site of a graded spinal cord compression is described. They usually show an earlier decrease in amplitude than cortical SEP's and the appearance of a particular positive potential. The degree of reversibility after decompression is variable and is not correlated with histological damage.

Animals

Treatment of experimental spinal cord compression caused by extradural neoplasms.

Epidural spinal cord compression was produced in rats by injection of Walker 256 carcinoma cell suspension anterior to the T-12 or T-13 vertebral body. The tumor grows through the intervertebral foramina to compress the spinal cord and produce paraplegia in 3 to 4 weeks. The effect of several treatments upon clinical signs was assessed. Dexamethasone caused a significant but transient improvement in neurological function. Radiation therapy likewise improved neurological function, and was more effective when given by a high-dose protracted course than when given either in a single dose or a low-dose protracted course. Laminectomy was not helpful in relieving neurological symptoms. Dimethyl sulfoxide did not relieve neurological symptoms. Cyclophosphamide was most effective in relieving neurological symptoms, and most of the animals that were treated with that drug when they were severely weak but still able to move their hind limbs recovered fully. Some animals that were totally paraplegic when treatment began recovered function after radiation therapy or cyclophosphamide treatment, but recovery was better if treatment was started when animals could still move their hind limbs. This animal model appears to be a useful way of studying the treatment of human spinal cord compression produced by epidural neoplasms.

Animals

Spinal cord compression in lymphoma.

A retrospective analysis of 59 patients with diffuse histiocytic and diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma was performed to determine the incidence and characteristic features of patients developing spinal cord compression. Spinal cord compression occurred in 6 of 59 (10.2%) patients. All were females despite a 1:1 male: female ratio in the entire group. The mean age of females with spinal cord compression was significantly lower than the mean age of females with lymphoma without this complication. These findings suggest that young females with diffuse histiocytic or diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma represent a subgroup at high risk for spinal cord compression.

Adult

Spinal cord compression caused by a metastatic lesion from an aortic body tumour.

An aortic body tumour in a 7-year-old wire-haired fox terrier with hind limb ataxia is described. A metastatic lesion in the dorsal arch of the eighth thoracic vertebra caused compression of the spinal cord. Radiographic techniques are discussed that enabled the position and extent of the primary tumour and its metastasis to be defined and allowed a provisional diagnosis of chemodectoma.

Animals

Experimental spinal cord compression by epidural neoplasm.

We have developed an experimental model of spinal cord compression in rats. Tumor injected anterior to the T-12 vertebral body grows through the intervertebral foramina to compress the cord and produces paraplegia in 3 to 4 weeks. Evidence for vasogenic edema in spinal cord compressed by tumor includes increased water content, leakage of horseradish peroxidase into gray matter, and histologic evidence of edema. The vascular supply to the cord overlying the tumor appears to be compromised. Both spinal cord edema and clinical symptoms are lessened by treating symptomatic animals with dexamethasone.

Acute Disease

Vertebral metastases and spinal cord compression.

Clinical interest in spinal compression and resultant paraplegia due to metastases has mounted in recent years. This has stimulated attention to the neuropathology of the condition. 14 cases of spinal cord compression due to vertebral metastases are compared with over 100 traumatic cases. In the traumatic lesions there is central haemorrhagic necrosis leading to cavitation and gliosis with nerve root regeneration in the late stages. In the metastatic cases, lesions are often peripheral, pie-shaped and are related to vascular factors. The neuropathology of cord necrosis due to metastatic spinal disease is therefore different from that caused by trauma. These observations have clinical importance in planning treatment.

Adult

Spinal cord compression in thalassaemia.

Two cases of spinal cord compression resulting from extramedullary haemopoiesis in patients with thalassaemia of intermediate clinical severity are reported. The association between mild thalassaemia with long survival and the risk of spinal cord compression from extramedullary haemopoietic deposits is emphasised.

Adult

Effect of duration of acute spinal cord compression in a new acute cord injury model in the rat.

The effect of duration of acute compression of the spinal cord was assessed in a new model in the rat. The spinal cord was acutely compressed for varying times by a modified aneurysm clip which produced a compression force of 180 grams. The effect of duration of compression was measured by the inclined plane method of assessing the animals' clinical performance. The results showed a linear relationship between log compression time and clinical performance. Thus, the clinical effect of acute compression of the spinal cord injury is inversely related to duration of compression time and the relationship has been precisely quantified. These results suggest that persisting compression should be relieved as soon as possible in order to improve recovery.

Acute Disease

Mediastinal paraganglioma causing spinal cord compression.

An invasive paraganglioma of the posterior mediastinum caused spinal cord compression in a 31 year old women. Electron microscopic examination of the paraganglioma invading the epidural space revealed numerous dense-cored granules in the cytoplasm of the tumour cells. We are reporting this case to present the ultrastructure of mediastinal paraganglioma, and to call attention to an unusual cause of spinal cord compression.

Adult

Spinal cord compression from metastatic breast carcinoma: treatment by radiation therapy alone.

There are few reports in the medical literature of treatment of compression of the spinal cord by the use of radiation therapy alone. Laminectomy has been the standard procedure to relieve compression of the spinal cord and should be performed within 48 hours of initial symptoms. In this patient, radiation therapy was the only modality used. It was supplemented by diethylstilbestrol in the course of follow-up. The result of radiotherapy so far has been excellent. The authors emphasize that radiotherapy was begun three months after development of paraplegia, which makes this an interesting case for presentation.

Adenocarcinoma, Scirrhous

[Solitary vertebral osteochondroma with spinal cord compression (author's transl)].

Solitary vertebral osteochondromas with spinal cord compression are very rare. Here we report a case of an osteochondroma of the 5th cervical vertebra protruding into the spinal canal. The therapeutic approach is discussed in relation to the natural evolution and the favourable prognosis of these lesions. The usefullness of the C.T. scan is shown both in diagnosis and post-operative follow-up.

Adult

Spinal-cord compression in myeloma.

Clinical records of 47 patients in whom spinal-cord compression was the presenting feature of plasma-cell myeloma were analysed retrospectively. Patients were referred during 1954-78. Median survival was 30 months and prognosis was best for those in whom the site of cord compression was the thoracic region. Early laminectomy and decompression followed by adequate radiotherapy resulted in complete or good partial response in over a third of patients who presented with complete paraplegia. Improvements in supportive care and more effective chemotherapy allow spinal-cord compression in myeloma to be treated promptly and vigorously, thus improving duration and quality of survival in a substantial proportion of patients.

Female

Epidural spinal cord compression from metastatic tumor: diagnosis and treatment.

The clinical findings in 130 conseucutive cases of spinal cord compression by metastatic extradural tumors were analyzed. These 130 patients were combined with a previous survey of 105 patients to compare the effectiveness of radiation therapy (RT) alone with that of surgical decompression followed by RT. Ambulation after treatment was considered a successful outcome. The most common primary tumors producing spinal cord compression were (in order) breast, lung, prostate, and kidney. In 68% of these tumors the thoracic region was involved. Pain was the primary symptom of 96% of the patients, while motor or sensory deficits (or both) were found in 82% of them. Therapy consisted of surgery and RT in 65 patients and RT alone in 170 patients. There were no differences in outcome between those treated by surgery combined with RT and those managed by RT alone. Patients with radiosensitive tumors and those ambulatory at the onset of treatment benefited whether treated by surgery or by RT. Seventy-five percent of living patients who improved from treatment remained ambulatory at 6 months, and approximately 50% of living patients were ambulatory at 1 year. We conclude that RT without decompressive laminectomy is as effective as decompressive laminectomy in treating epidural spinal cord compression from systemic cancer.

Adolescent

Indications for nonoperative treatment of spinal cord compression due to breast cancer.

A retrospective series of 12,478 patients with breast cancer included 2467 patients with spinal metastases. Local treatment was not necessary in 688 patients. Neurological dificit did not develop in 1735 patients who underwent radiotherapy. Forty-four patients developed myelopathy due to spinal cord compression as demonstrated by neurological examination and myelography. Twenty-six of these patients were initially treated by laminectomy and 18 were initially treated with radiotherapy. The two groups did not significantly differ in their outcome with respect to motor power, pain relief, or ability to walk. Six patients who underwent radiotherapy deteriorated during 2 months of treatment. Four of these patients were not operative candidates because of poor general condition (three patients) or long duration of paraplegia (one patient). Of two patients who underwent emergency laminectomy, one became paraplegic; however, the other patient was significantly improved. For this reason it is essential that patients undergoing radiotherapy for spinal cord compression be followed closely by a neurosurgeon. The authors believe that in appropriate cases radiotherapy alone can yield results as good as laminectomy combined with radiotherapy.

Adult

Spinal cord compression by extramedullary hemopoietic tissue in pyruvate-kinase-deficiency-caused hemolytic anemia.

Spinal cord compression by extramedullary hemopoietic tissue is a rare complication of hemolytic anemias. This is the first report of this complication in hemolytic anemia caused by pyruvate-kinase deficiency. Indium scan, computed tomography (CT) scan, and myelography were helpful in diagnosis. Surgery and radiotherapy were followed by complete recovery during a follow-up period of 12 months.

Adult