Disturbances of cerebrospinal fluid flow attributable to arachnoid scarring cause interstitial edema of the cat spinal cord.

OBJECTIVE: Spinal arachnoid scarring may be caused by trauma, inflammation, surgery, spinal instability, degenerative diseases, or malformations and may lead to progressive neurological deficits and syringomyelia. We wanted to investigate the effects of focal arachnoid scarring in the cervical spinal canal of cats on pressures in the subarachnoid space and spinal cord tissue, as well as on spinal cord histological features.
METHODS: Twenty-nine adult cats were used for this study. Nine animals served as control animals, whereas 20 animals received a focal arachnoid scar at C1-C2, which was produced by placement of a kaolin-soaked fibrin sponge on the posterior surface of the spinal cord. After 4 months, pressure recordings above and below the scar, in the subarachnoid space and spinal cord, were performed. Elasticity measurements were performed with small bolus injections. Morphometric analyses of brain and ventricle volumes, sizes of the central canal, and sizes of the perivascular spaces in gray and white matter were also performed.
RESULTS: No animal developed clinical or neurophysiological evidence of neurological symptoms at any time. In the kaolin-treated group, pressure recordings revealed a significant increase in the subarachnoid pressure at C1, because of the cerebrospinal fluid flow obstruction. Pressure gradients tended to increase at all measuring points. A significant difference was detected between the spinal cord and subarachnoid space at C2, where the intramedullary pressure exceeded the subarachnoid pressure. Elasticity was significantly increased in the spinal cord at C2. Intracranially, no evidence of hydrocephalus was observed. In the spinal cord, perivascular spaces were significantly enlarged in the posterior white matter above the arachnoid scar and in the central gray matter below the area of scarring in the cervical cord.
CONCLUSION: Arachnoid scarring at C1-C2 produces an interstitial type of edema in the central gray matter below the area of scarring in the cat cervical cord, because of altered cerebrospinal fluid and extracellular fluid flow dynamics. These changes may be interpreted as the initial stage in the development of syringomyelic cavities.