[Vertigo as an atypical symptom of intraspinal cord tumor]

Vertigo is an unpleasant sensation of movement of the subject or of his surroundings. There are many causes of vertigo. Traditionally these are divided into 'central' and 'peripheral'. It is unusual to find it as a symptom of myelopathy. We describe the case of a 67 year-old woman with no significant previous clinical history who complained of the sudden onset of vertigo a few hours previously, which worsened on turning her neck towards the left. On examination, the vertigo recurred on turning her neck to the left after a latent period of a few seconds together with the appearance of ipsilateral conjugated nystagmus, which gradually disappeared. On neurological examination, there was amyotrophy of both arms with weakness, considerably reduced reflexes, except for clonus of the left wrist. There was slight paraparesia with bilateral cutaneoplantar flexion and a level of sensitivity at C2-C3. The sensitivity disorder was more marked in the arms with a bilateral distribution approximately at C5-C7 affecting predominantly thermoanalgesia. Cervical MRI showed a mass consistent with ependymoma. This was removed surgically 2 weeks after admission. The findings of the intraoperative biopsy confirmed the radiological diagnosis. The vertigo improved one week after admission, although the patient died of pneumonia one month after operation. Despite the vertigo was an atypical symptom, it was the clue that led to the diagnosis. Hypotheses about the cause of vertigo are discussed.