Disorders of the Spinal Cord in Children

Covering the range of paediatric spinal cord disease, its clinical assessment, appropriate investigation, its medical and neurosurgical management and neuro-rehabilitation.

Spinal cord disorders have tended to be approached as adjuncts to disorders of the paediatric brain or peripheral nervous system. This is partly a function of numbers – specifically spinal pathologies being less frequent than those of the brain and the peripheral neuromuscular system, partly a function of the relatively limited investigation techniques available before the advent of MRI and, at least to some degree, it is because the clinical evaluation of the spinal cord in young children is difficult and may be overshadowed by the manifestations of accompanying brain and peripheral neuromuscular symptomatology.

It is likely that the role of the cord, in conditions ranging from neonatal neurological injury to shaken impact syndrome and in inflammatory and neurometabolic disorders and beyond, will continue to become more evident over coming years.

Readership

Paediatric neurologists, paediatric neurosurgeons, paediatric oncologists, paediatric neuroradiologists and neurophysiologists, rehabilitation physicians and therapists.

Clinics in Developmental Medicine Series

Michael Pike (Editor)

Dr Michael Pike is Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at the Children's Hospital, Oxford and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Oxford.

He served as Chair of the Directorate of Paediatrics and Clinical Genetics, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust from 2003 to 2005 and President of the British Paediatric Neurology Association from 2006 to 2008. He was Chair of the College Specialist Advisory Committee on Neurology, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (Jan 2006-Jan2008). He is a Founding Trustee, UK Children's Neurological Research Campaign.

AUTHORS' APPOINTMENTS ix
FOREWORD xii
Peter Rosenbaum
PREFACE xiv
Michael Pike
1. THE NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF CHILDREN WITH
SPINAL CORD DISORDERS 1
Saleel R Chandratre and Sandeep Jayawant
2. IMAGING THE CORD 21
Gerardine Quaghebeur
3. CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF THE SPINAL CORD 51
Ravi Knight
4. SPINAL CORD MALFORMATIONS 73
Michel Zerah and Abhaya V Kulkarni
5. SPINAL CORD ABSCESS, HAEMORRHAGE, AND TRAUMA 102
Reza Yassari and John Houten
6. TUMOURS OF THE SPINE IN CHILDREN 120
David A Chesler, Joseph Noggle, Gary Nicolin, John-Paul Kilday,
and George I Jallo
7. INFLAMMATORY, METABOLIC, VASCULAR, AND DEMYELINATING
DISORDERS 152
Michael Absoud, Ming J Lim, and Evangeline Wassmer
8. SPECIFIC ISSUES IN MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION 186
Lawrence Vogel and Allison Graham
9. PROSPECTS FOR SPINAL CORD REPAIR 225
Elizabeth Muir and Roger Keynes
COLOUR PLATE SECTION
INDEX 241

'Overall, this volume provides useful information on the broad spectrum of spinal cord disorders. It is recommended as a reference tool to colleagues in training as well as trained child neurologists.' Eugen Boltshauser, Neuropediatrics, 2013

'This book is well edited with good illustrations. The contributors write about all aspects of spinal cord disorders in children from comprehensive experience and their expertise shines out from the chapters.' Jeanne Heartley, Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists Journal, 2014

'This textbook is very welcome in condensing the wisdom of a range of respected UK and international specialists under the editorial guidance of Dr Michael Pike... I think this book is a little gem. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I expect I will return to consult it many times in the years to come.' Martin Smith, Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2014