28 September 2022: International Arnold-Chiari Syndrome Day

Published by ICSEB at 28 September, 2022

The Institut Chiari & Siringomielia & Escoliosis de Barcelona (ICSEB) joins the International Day dedicated to the Arnold-Chiari Syndrome – a condition our centre is highly specialized in.

We want to remind those who do not know what it means for patients to suffer from Arnold-Chiari syndrome type I, which by definition is characterised by a descent of the cerebellar tonsils below the occipital foramen of the inferoposterior part of the skull, without other malformations in spinal cord.

Such descent of the lower part of the cerebellum below the foramen magnum, according to the almost 50 years of Dr. Royo-Salvador’s research, has its cause in the Filum Disease. Filum disease arises due the congenital traction of the entire nervous system by the ligament Filum terminale, which is tighter than normal.

Suffering from Arnold-Chiari syndrome Type I can lead to a combination of symptoms that progressively increase in frequency and intensity, such as: headache, neck pain, weakness in the extremities, impaired vision, pain in the extremities, paraesthesia, altered sensitivity, dizziness, issues with swallowing, lower back pain, memory impairment, altered gait, back pain, balance disturbance, dysaesthesia, language disorder, sphincter disturbances, insomnia, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and tremors.

The quality of life of a patient with this condition can decrease significantly before finding the possibility of treatment, and not only because the clinical picture is degenerative. Also, because the surgical solutions that are conventionally offered have a fairly high risk being major surgeries such as craniectomy with suboccipital decompression. For this reason, it is usual to wait until the disease is more advanced before applying this type of invasive treatment, so that the risk of surgery does not exceed that of the pathology.

On the other hand, thanks to the findings of Dr. M. B. Royo-Salvador, who has found a method of diagnosis and treatment called the Filum System^®, a greater precision of the affectation of the disease and the elimination of the cause is achieved, with its subsequent evolution being halted; through the minimally invasive surgical procedure of the sectioning of the Filum terminale.

The Filum System^® results for Arnold-Chiari Syndrome type I applied at the ICSEB are very positive: the improvement of some symptoms, the disappearance of others and, above all, an improvement in the patient’s quality of life in general -if only because it does not continue to worsen, like before.

Sometimes, one or more years after the procedure, on the follow-up magnetic resonance imaging of some patients, the ascend of the cerebellar tonsils can be observed; but in general, the important thing is to eliminate the tension caused by the ligament Filum terminale.

On this day dedicated to patients affected by Filum Disease with a descent of the cerebellar tonsils, we want to remember all of them and emphasise that there is new hope where there was none before: the possibility of a treatment that can have many benefits with very little risk.