Osteogenesis imperfecta associated with basilar impression and cerebral atrophy: a case report

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a disease of bone formation subdivided into two types, congenita and tarda. It is associated with bony fragility, blue sclerae and abnormality of tooth dentin. Rarely the tarda form is associated with basilar invagination or infolding of the foramen magnum and upper cervical segments into the posterior fossa. This results in hydrocephalus and a spectrum of neurologic dysfunction known as the foramen magnum compression syndrome. Many radiologic methods have been used to evaluate basilar invagination including plain film and CT. We describe a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta tarda examined with CT, with a unique finding of diffuse cerebral atrophy associated with basilar invagination.