Grant Recipient: Victor Haughton, MD and Bermans Iskandar, MD, University of Wisconsin Medical School

Dates: October 1, 2003 September 30, 2004

Grant Amount: $55,782

This work focuses on examining the role of abnormal CSF dynamics at the foramen magnum in patients with CMI/S. Drs. Haughton and Iskandar believe that it is insufficient to consider only average CSF velocity in trying to understand symptoms and syrinx formation. They propose that a high resolution mapping of CSF flow must be made, including examination of localized “high velocity jets” of CSF that occur during systole and diastole, as well as other inhomogeneities of flow at the diastole, as well as other inhomogeneities of flow at the foramen magnum. Flow in normal subjects and CM/S patients will be characterized in three dimensions at sub-millimeter resolution using newer phase contrast imaging techniques. From this, they hope to understand why symptoms occur, how best to treat them, and to anticipate the occurrence of symptoms in asymptomatic patients.