Sagging Brain

[wina1969]

I have been told by numerous doctors in the last 6  months that I have Chiari.  I recently went to Duke and the NS there ordered a cine MRI.  I have the results but have not spoken with the the doctor.  The results mention that my Chiari is now only 4mm and i have a "sagging brain".  I have slightly diminished flow at the cerebellar tonsills at the foramen magnum.  I also have a severely hypoplastic left and medial right transverse sinuses.  Has anyone been given the same dx?

[rgb303]

Ask your team about low CSF pressure, probably due to a leak in the spinal meninges...  Usually very difficult to find.  Normal CSF pressure reading doesn't exclude having a leak.... Treatment can be pretty straightforward:  an epidural blood patch.  But you need to know where the leak is!.   My wife was just treated and recovering after having a 14mm Chiari, positive cine MRI and sagging brain.  Took over a year, multiple neurologists and neurosurgeons.  She had multiple neurological symptoms, some dimensia, memory issues, etc.   Severe orthostatic headaches.

Our medical team found a small leak (upper thoractic/lower cervical vert.) 2-4 hrs post injection of contrast material in a CT myelogram.  Our radiologist indicated that most of these kinds of leaks don't show up until at least a couple of hrs post contrast material.

There are specific indicators in the structure of a saging brain that point to the likelihood that the cause is CSF leak rather than congenital Chiari malformation, but not everyone knows what to look for.

[selmaS]

Hi....with a 4mm herniation most NS do not recognize that as chiari or as possible to cause symptoms.Those that do recognize it will consider it chiari 0.

I am not aware of ne one else with this dx....I hope someone may be familiar  or shares this dx and can offer u some info and insight.

Good luck
"selma"