Unilateral hyperhidrosis as persistently isolated feature of syringomyelia and Arnold Chiari type 1

Anhidrosis and hyperhidrosis can be manifestations of irritations of the central or peripheral nervous system and many causes such as injuries, tumors, infarcts, or hemorrhages of the brain or spinal cord have been reported. Unilateral hyperhidrosis is a rare medical event. Differential diagnosis for unilateral hyperhidrosis should include hypothalamic tumor, cerebral infarction, encephalitis, syringomyelia, trauma, neuritis, cervical rib, and intrathoracic malignancy. We report a young man with unilateral hyperhidrosis due to syringomyelia. Our case suggests how a syrinx cavity can remain asymptomatic for motor and sensory abnormalities, resulting in relatively intact function of all the structures inside the spinal cord despite a severe anatomic damage.