[Headache and fainting as initial symptoms of syringomyelia associated to Arnold-Chiari and facial angiomatous nevus].
BACKGROUND
Syringomyelia and Arnold-Chiari malformation are two dysraphism that often appear together. Clinical manifestations are diverse although some patients remain asymptomatic for years. Syncope, supposedly due to a dysfunction of medulla baroceptors and spinal cord intermediolateral horn, is uncommon, particularly as the initial symptom.


METHODS
34 year old woman, with a facial angiomatous nevus, presented with two episodes of headache followed by syncope; neurological examination was apparently normal. MRI showed mild supratentorial hydrocephalus, Arnold-Chiari malformation and cervical syringomyelia, with no vascular anomalies.


CONCLUSIONS
This case, which shares some features with Sturge-Weber syndrome and PHACE syndrome, enhances the importance of the search for anomalies in patients with paroxistical symptoms and cutaneous lesions.
Villamayor-Blanco
B
B
Sección de Neurología, Hospital de Conxo, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Arias
M
M
Sesar-Ignacio
A
A
Requena-Caballero
I
I
Arias-Rivas
S
S
Pereiro-Zabala
I
I
D000328:Adult; D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology*; D018324:Hemangioma, Capillary / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D013575:Syncope / Q000209:etiology*; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed