title: Acquired progressive hypotonia in infancy: consider compressive cervical myelopathy.
abstract: This case report presents a rare cause of progressive hypotonia due to a congenital bony defect of the atlas in a 2-month-old girl. The patient was initially referred to the paediatric department with feeding problems. Within days after admission she developed progressive hypotonia and showed decreased reflexes of the upper extremities. Magnetic resonance imaging showed compressive myelopathy at the level of vertebra C1. After laminectomy of the C1-vertebra the neurological symptoms resolved.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most anomalies of the vertebras are asymptomatic. Only symptomatic anomalies with compression and neurological symptoms need surgery.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, Máxima Medical Centre, Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I N E
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Verbeek
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vollebregt
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Halbertsma
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Lindert
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andriessen
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001270:Cervical Atlas / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009123:Muscle Hypotonia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012307:Risk Factors; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000473:pathology*