title: Sleep disturbance: a forgotten syndrome in patients with Chiari I malformation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chiari type I malformation (CM-I) is characterised by caudal ectopia of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum. This is associated with brain stem, high spinal cord, and cranial nerve compression phenomena. The most frequent symptoms are occipital headaches and dizziness. Less well-known symptoms are sleep disorders and nocturnal respiratory abnormalities.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE and information from patients evaluated at the Neurosurgery and Clinical Neurophysiology Departments at Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review article based on data obtained from MEDLINE articles since 1966, using combinations of the following keywords: «Chiari malformation» or «Arnold-Chiari malformation» and «sleep apnea» or «sleep disorders».
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CM-I patients show a higher prevalence of sleep disorders than that observed in the general population. Some studies report a 50% prevalence of sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS), probably associated with sudden death in some cases. These results support analysing sleep respiratory parameters in theses patients. Identifying SAHS symptoms may help optimise treatment, thereby improving quality of life and prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Neurofisiología Clínica, Unidad de Sueño, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España. Electronic address: doctorferre@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferré Masó
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación de Neurocirugía y Neurotraumatología (UNINN), Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Poca
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación de Neurocirugía y Neurotraumatología (UNINN), Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: de la Calzada
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación de Neurocirugía y Neurotraumatología (UNINN), Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Solana
authors.affiliation: Neurofisiología Clínica, Unidad de Sueño, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Romero Tomás
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España; Unidad de Investigación de Neurocirugía y Neurotraumatología (UNINN), Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sahuquillo
mesh_terms: D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography; D011788:Quality of Life; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*