THE NATURAL-HISTORY OF CERVICAL SPONDYLOTIC MYELOPATHY

This is a retrospective study of twenty-two patients with cervical spo ndylotic myelopathy who were admitted to the hospital for surgical tre atment of their neurological condition. The purpose of the study was t o evaluate the presenting symptoms, factors affecting the diagnosis an d the course of the disease prior to surgical intervention. The earlie st consistent symptom in all of our patients was a gait abnormality Th e course of the disease was one of progressive deterioration. Spontane ous regression did not occur in any of the cases. The vagueness of the initial complaints led to considerable delay in the diagnosis (averag e of 6.3 years). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was the most useful test in confirming the diagnosis.