Neurológia pre prax 5/2009

Cervical vertigo

The paper deals with cervical vertigo, a controversial clinical entity, characterized by the development of dizziness or instability in association with head or neck movement with an underlying disorder of multiple systems. Although the pathophysiology of cervical vertigo is not explicitly defined, the authors discuss several hypotheses suggested. The causes of cervical vertigo reported in the literature include: functional blockade of the cervical-cranial junction with impaired cervical proprioceptive system, vertebral artery compression, cervical cord compression, cervical spine injury, Barré-Lieou syndrome, and, rarely, cervical-cranial junction abnormalities. There is no clear consensus on how to diagnose cervical vertigo. The authors present the diagnostic criteria according to Hain, list the routine as well as uncommon examinations that may contribute to diagnosing, and describe some diagnostic tests. Differential diagnosis involves the distinction of cervical vertigo from the most frequent causes – benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and vertebro-basilar insufficiency. Concerning treatment, the authors mention the most as well as less common therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: cervical vertigo, Bow Hunter syndrome, Barré-Lieou syndrome, posterior cervical sympathetic syndrome.