Pseudotumor of the craniocervical junction during long-term hemodialysis.

A systematic study of the upper cervical spine was performed using magnetic resonance imaging in 25 patients (15 men and 10 women) who had been undergoing hemodialysis for more than 10 years. Seven pseudotumors of the periodontoid soft tissue were disclosed, which were similar to the pannus recently described in rheumatoid arthritis. Bone cystic radiolucencies were observed in association with these pseudotumors in 5 patients. The radiolucencies were located in the atlas (1 in the lateral mass and 1 in the anterior branch) and in the axis (3 in the odontoid process and 1 in the vertebral body). No horizontal or vertical atlantoaxial subluxation was demonstrated. These features were observed only in patients who had amyloid arthropathy. They could be a frequent, yet thus far little-recognized, feature of beta 2-microglobulin amyloidosis.