Cervical Myelopathy Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament and Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis: problems in investigation
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 1987;46:166-168;
I D Griffiths and T P Fitzjohn
This report describes a patient presenting with a spastic quadriplegia who was found to have both diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the cervical spine. There was a dramatic worsening of his symptoms during a myelogram examination of the neck. It is suggested that computed tomographic imaging of the neck is the preferred investigative procedure if OPLL is suspected as a cause of cervical myelopathy.

Paraspinal ligaments undergo degeneration, secondary to attrition, and often ossify. This condition is broadly termed spinal enthesopathy. Physicians recognize 3 syndromes associated with this phenomenon, including (1) Forestier disease (most common; involving anterior longitudinal ligaments) and a more diffuse variant (exhibiting additional extra-axial features) that is termed diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), (2) ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), and (3) ossification of the vertebral arch ligaments (OVAL). Clinically, DISH is often referred to as senile ankylosing spondylitis because of similarities in appearance between these two conditions, despite the differing ages of onset.

3 Article found July 2007

MJAFI 2004; 60: 284 Case Report

Contents - Clinical Profile, Findings, Discussion, Pathology, Clinical Features, MRI, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment

Ossification of the Cervical Posterior Longitudinal Ligament: a Review
Neurosurg. Focus 13 (2) Clinical Pearl 2002

Uses search string allintitle: ossification "posterior longitudinal ligament"
84 returns July 2007

Ann Rheum Dis 1998;57:429-433 ( July ) Full text
Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament in three geographically and genetically different populations of ankylosing spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies
CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of OPLL in AS and SpA is higher than previously recognised and seems to be associated with variables identifying more severe axial disease.

Search String "Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament"[Majr] returned 249 articles July 2007