need help understanding mri findings

[teeners]

hi all,
i saw a neurosurgeon in january and he went over my mris that i had done that same week. it was decided i would followup in a year, but he was unsure if my symptoms were caused by the chiari 1.
i recently reviewed the mri findings and noticed he never mentioned a few of the findings to me. i tried looking some of them up online, but wanted to check if anyone knows what these mean:
Cervical Spine MRI Findings:
(1) focal reversal of the cervical lordosis at C5-C6 (unchanged from last MRI)

(2) cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the medulla and craniocervical junction

(3) linear increased STIR signal within the spinal cord extending from the inferior C4 through the mid T1 levels that is not appreciated on the T2 weighted sequences or axial T2 images to suggest a syrinx (Impression: Likely represents truncation artifact)

Is a truncation artifact an error caused by an MRI?

(4)cerebrospinal flow study in centered over the foramen magnum demonstrates no evidence of synchronous bidrectional flow or abnormal flow jets. (Impression: Unremarkable cerebrospinal fluid flow study.)

Does this mean there was no blockage?  

MRI-Thoracic Spine w/o Contrast
(1)There is linear hyperintense T2/STIR signal within the cord on the sagittal sequences that likely represents truncation artifact, as there is no discrete fluid collection on axial sequences. There are a few areas of faint central hyperintensity that may represent a presyrinx.

Is this a common reporting? A presyrinx? Is this something that most definitely will become a syrinx, based on your experience? Or could these faint areas of hyperintensity be something else?

Thanks for the help!!

[selmaS]

  But no contrast when they did the CINE?...hmmmm

U may want to get another opinion of what the MRI's show....JMHO

I find there is more in the MRI report when u see it all and not just spinets....so that can appear out of context....u know what I mean?
Which one was the CINE?

[teeners]

no i did not write all that was on the reports, i included only the findings and impressions i had questions about.
i had my 4 mris done separately (brain, lumbar, cervical, thoracic). i had contrast on the cervical spine and brain mri i believe

[selmaS]

  The only thing I can think of is that the Drs do not know how to interpret a CINE MRI....it can indicate a pulsating flow...which u only had one sentence to describe ur CINE I would expect more info.,

And I see what u mean I took the info on the artifact as 2 separate issues....

Yes, and they should have also included a contrast dye...the clip on ur  finger is for the 2nd part of a CINE MRI to see if the CSF pulsates with ur BP....the contrast is to see clearly all the small vessels and veins.

Did they do the CINE in 2 parts?

Did u write all that was on the report?....more then just impressions?

[teeners]

can you have obstruction even if it wasnt noted by an MRI? or generally, if you have csf obstruction, does that mean it is always obstructed?
i dont necessarily think it was indicated as an artifact (what i listed above were two separate findings that i both listed under #1- they should be separate)

also, i was never told i had a CINE mri ordered, but i had something clipped to my finger during the mri- is this what a cine mri is?

[selmaS]

  Artifacts can be from moving, or just a glitch within the machine itself....since there are 2 diff possible artifacts it may be the machine.

A syrinx can develop newhere in the spine.....those with Chiari have had them in the thoracic and lumbar spine.

A syrinx forms as a result of a CSF obstruction, do u have a disk issue near where this is?.....

Or have u had an injury in that area? The only other possibility is u do have a CSF obstruction not noted or observed...not sure how....the thoracic is a diff place to have a syrinx form from injury as it is more protected then the cervical spine and why many Drs only look there....so I am confused as to how it could be one in this area with out obstruction...it may be an artifact as indicated.

U may want to send copies of ur MRI to a NS that is a Chiari specialist to get another opinion.

[teeners]

i have not been in a severe MVA, i did have an accident a little over 5 years ago where i bonked my head pretty hard..... i was volunteering abroad and staying with an elderly woman whose doorways were shorter than me and i didn't bend far enough and caught the top of my head in the concrete doorway. i had headaches/symptoms for 6 months and they seemed to go away until 2 years ago. it wasnt exactly whiplash, but it definitely jarred my body!
As for the possible "presyrinx", is it uncommon to have a syrinx in the thoracic spine if no syrinx appeared in the cervical spine?
And also, just curious- are the truncation artifacts common in people MRIs? Is this something that can be caused by a person moving in the machine? I know that I had my MRIs done at a special location with a higher power machine, so I was wondering if it possibly shows more movement

[selmaS]

  Hi...well there are some things I am not sure of, but what is familiar I will fill in.....

AS for the cervical spine- 1-the reversal of the lordosis could indicate whip lash or an injury to the cervical spine, were u in a MVA? PT can help with this, but make sure they do NOT manipulate ur neck!

2- not sure what is meant by this

3- What is seen here is thought to be an artifact, meaning a glitch in the MRI image or the machine making the image.

4- according to this statement there is no issue with CSF flow.

Thoracic spine 1- seems they r not sure if this is an artifact or a start of a syrinx....could mean u need more testing....

My question is have u had an injury to ur back and neck area ...MVA, fall?