MRI diagnosis of Charcot arthropathy caused by syringomyelia

SHAO Shuo; QI Xianlong; ZHENG Ning; MENG Qiang

Abstract：Objective To explore the clinical value of MRI diagnosis of Charcot arthropathy caused by syringomyelia , in order to improve the recognition of the disease .Methods 5 patients with Charcot arthropathy caused by syringomyelia were included in this study.All patients underwent MRI examination .Results Three cases of shoulder and two cases of elbow Charcot arthropathy were included.Three cases showed bone absorption mixed with hyperplasia , one case showed absorption , and one case showed hyperplasia .MRI showed bone absorption , bone hyperplasia , free bone fragment , deformation of the joint , and joint dislocation , and can also show the joint capsule relaxation , uneven hypertrophy and surrounding soft tissue swelling , joint effusion , the tendon and ligament damage by joint instability .In addition, cervical spine MRI can accurately diagnose syringomyelia , which provide good diagnostic basis for Charcot arthropathy .Conclusion MRI could be used as an optimal modality for evaluating Charcot ar-thropathy caused by syringomyelia .