First Upright Study of CSF Flow in Chiari I Malformation with Cine Phase-Contrast MRI

David Chu¹, Michael Boitano, Dan Culver, Raymond Damadian, Mary Gianni, Rob Viel, Jan Votruba, Robert Wolf

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow abnormalities are generally known to correlate better with symptomatology than the degree of tonsillar herniation in Chiari I malformation (CMI) patients. However, all MRI studies of CSF flow in CMI patients have been restricted to the recumbent position. We present the first study of CSF flow and spinal cord pulsation in the upright posture in a CMI patient. Upright imaging revealed major CSF flow abnormalities that were absent in the supine posture.