Pathogenesis of cerebellar deformity in experimental Chiari type I malformation caused by mumps virus

We sought to elucidate the pathogenesis of Chiari type I malformation using an experimental model of hydrocephalus produced by inoculating hamsters with mumps virus. Dilatation of the lateral ventricules was detected in all brains inoculated at 2, 10, and 25 days of age. The cerebellum in hamsters inoculated at 2 and 10 days of age showed elongation and flattening of the vermis and protrusion or notching of the uvula. All layers, i.e., the molecular, Purkinje cell, and granular layers, and the white matter were preserved, but had become narrow. Purkinje cells remained normal. Hamsters inoculated at 25 days of age did not develop the cerebellar deformity. Mumps virus antigen was detected in all ependymal cells and in some epithelial cells of the choroid plexus in all hamsters that had been inoculated at 2, 10, or 25 days of age. Results suggest that Chiari type I malformation is caused by two main factors occurring simultaneously, i.e., increasing intracranial pressure and rapid histogenesis of the cerebellar cortex.