The median survival time of patients without treatment is four to six weeks. The best prognosis are seen from NM due to breast cancer with the median overall survival of no more than six months after diagnosis of NM. Death are generally due to progressive neurological dysfunction. Treatment is meant to stabilize neurological function and prolong survival. Neurological dysfunction usually cannot be fixed but progressive dysfunction can be halted and survival may be increased to four to six months.

Factors that lower survival:

Much of prognosis can be determined from the damage due to primary cancer. Negative hormone receptor status, poor performance status, more than 3 chemotherapy regimes, and high Cyfra 21-1 level at diagnosis, all indicates lower survival period of patients with NM. Cyfra 21-1 is a fragment of the cytokeratin 19 and may reflect the tumor burden within the CSF.

Most ganglioneuromas are noncancerous, thus expected outcome is usually good. However, a ganglioneuroma may become cancerous and spread to other areas, or it may regrow after removal.

If the tumor has been present for a long time and has pressed on the spinal cord or caused other symptoms, it may have caused irreversible damage that cannot be corrected with the surgical removal of the tumor. Compression of the spinal cord may result in paralysis, especially if the cause is not detected promptly.

Spinal tumors are neoplasms located in the spinal cord. Extradural tumors are more common than intradural neoplasms.

Depending on their location, the spinal cord tumors can be:

- Extradural - outside the dura mater lining (most common)

- Intradural - part of the dura

- Intramedullary - inside the spinal cord

- Extramedullary- inside the dura, but outside the spinal cord

Ganglioglioma is a rare, slow-growing primary central nervous system (CNS) tumor which most frequently occurs in the temporal lobes of children and young adults.

There are no known risk factors for ganglioneuromas. However, the tumors may be associated with some genetic problems, such as neurofibromatosis type 1.

Hemangioblastomas can cause polycythemia due to ectopic production of erythropoietin as a paraneoplastic syndrome.

Extradural tumors are mostly metastases from primary cancers elsewhere (commonly breast, prostate and lung cancer). Intradural tumours can be classified as intramedullary (within the spinal parenchyma) or extramedullary (within the dura, but outside the spinal parenchyma). Extramedullary tumours are more common than intramedullary tumours. Common extramedullary tumours include meningiomas, schwannomas, extramedullary ependymomas, haemangioblastomas, while intramedullary tumours include astrocytomas and intramedullary ependymomas.

A study by You et al. was only able to evaluate the 47 documented cases that have been made to date. According to this study, intraocular schwannomas are more prevalent in females as compared to males with a ratio of 3:1. Additionally, individuals are more likely to present with intraocular schwannomas at a younger age than with uveal melanomas, the most common intraocular tumor. According to the participants evaluated in this study, the average age of occurrence was 37 years old, however, it is important to note that the age range documented represented individuals 9–76 years old.

Neoplastic or malignant meningitis, also called meningitis carcinomatosa and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, is the development of meningitis due to infiltration of the subarachnoid space by cancerous cells. Malignant cells come from primary cancer such as breast cancer or from a primary brain tumor like medulloblastoma. Neoplastic Meningitis (NM) was first reported in the 1870s with the most common cause being breast cancer, lung cancer, and malignant melanoma.

Gangliogliomas are generally benign WHO grade I tumors; the presence of anaplastic changes in the glial component is considered to represent WHO grade III (anaplastic ganglioglioma). Criteria for WHO grade II have been suggested, but are not established. Malignant transformation of spinal ganglioglioma has been seen in only a select few cases. Poor prognostic factors for adults with gangliogliomas include older age at diagnosis, male sex, and malignant histologic features.

Ependymomas make up about 5% of adult intracranial gliomas and up to 10% of childhood tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). Their occurrence seems to peak at age 5 years and then again at age 35. They develop from cells that line both the hollow cavities of the brain and the canal containing the spinal cord, but they usually arise from the floor of the fourth ventricle, situated in the lower back portion of the brain, where they may produce headache, nausea and vomiting by obstructing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This obstruction may also cause hydrocephalus. They may also arise in the spinal cord, conus medullaris and supratentorial locations. Other symptoms can include (but are not limited to): loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, temporary inability to distinguish colors, uncontrollable twitching, seeing vertical or horizontal lines when in bright light, and temporary memory loss. It should be remembered that these symptoms also are prevalent in many other illnesses not associated with ependymoma.

About 10% of ependymomas are benign myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE). MPE is a localized and slow-growing low-grade tumor, which originates almost exclusively from the lumbosacral nervous tissue of young patients. On the other hand, it is the most common tumor of the lumbosacral canal comprising about 90% of all tumoral lesions in this region.

Although some ependymomas are of a more anaplastic and malignant type, most of them are not anaplastic. Well-differentiated ependymomas are usually treated with surgery. For other ependymomas, total surgical removal is the preferred treatment in addition to radiation therapy. The malignant (anaplastic) varieties of this tumor, malignant ependymoma and the ependymoblastoma, are treated similarly to medulloblastoma but the prognosis is much less favorable. Malignant ependymomas may be treated with a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Ependymoblastomas, which occur in infants and children younger than 5 years of age, may spread through the cerebrospinal fluid and usually require radiation therapy. The subependymoma, a variant of the ependymoma, is apt to arise in the fourth ventricle but may occur in the septum pellucidum and the cervical spinal cord. It usually affects people over 40 years of age and more often affects men than women.

Extraspinal ependymoma (EEP), also known as extradural ependymoma, may be an unusual form of teratoma or may be confused with a sacrococcygeal teratoma.

Ependymoma is a tumor that arises from the ependyma, a tissue of the central nervous system. Usually, in pediatric cases the location is intracranial, while in adults it is spinal. The common location of intracranial ependymoma is the fourth ventricle. Rarely, ependymoma can occur in the pelvic cavity.

Syringomyelia can be caused by an ependymoma.

Ependymomas are also seen with neurofibromatosis type II.

The outcome for hemangioblastoma is very good, if surgical extraction of the tumor can be achieved; excision is possible in most cases and permanent neurologic deficit is uncommon and can be avoided altogether if the tumor is diagnosed and treated early. Persons with VHL syndrome have a bleaker prognosis than those who have sporadic tumors since those with VHL syndrome usually have more than one lesion.

CES is often concurrent with congenital or degenerative diseases and represents a high cost of care to those admitted to the hospital for surgery. Hospital stays generally last 4 to 5 days, and cost an average of $100,000 to $150,000, unless the patient lives in a country where healthcare is free at the point of delivery.

No set risk factors have been clearly defined for CES at this point in time. Individuals most at risk for disc herniation are the most likely to develop CES. Race has little influence with the notable exception that African Americans appear slightly less likely to develop CES than other groups; similarly, men are slightly more likely to develop CES than women. Middle age also appears to be a notable risk factor, as those populations are more likely to develop a herniated disc; heavy lifting can also be inferred as a risk factor for CES.

Dexamethasone (a potent glucocorticoid) in doses of 16 mg/day may reduce edema around the lesion and protect the cord from injury. It may be given orally or intravenously for this indication.

Surgery is indicated in localised compression as long as there is some hope of regaining function. It is also occasionally indicated in patients with little hope of regaining function but with uncontrolled pain. Postoperative radiation is delivered within 2–3 weeks of surgical decompression. Emergency radiation therapy (usually 20 Gray in 5 fractions, 30 Gray in 10 fractions or 8 Gray in 1 fraction) is the mainstay of treatment for malignant spinal cord compression. It is very effective as pain control and local disease control. Some tumours are highly sensitive to chemotherapy (e.g. lymphomas, small-cell lung cancer) and may be treated with chemotherapy alone.

Once complete paralysis has been present for more than about 24 hours before treatment, the chances of useful recovery are greatly diminished, although slow recovery, sometimes months after radiotherapy, is well recognised.

The median survival of patients with metastatic spinal cord compression is about 12 weeks, reflecting the generally advanced nature of the underlying malignant disease.

The majority of patients with neurocutaneous melanosis are asymptomatic and therefore have a good prognosis with few complications. Most are not diagnosed, so definitive data in not available. For symptomatic patients, the prognosis is far worse. In patients without the presence of melanoma, more than 50% die within 3 years of displaying symptoms. While those with malignancy have a mortality rate of 77% with most patients displaying symptoms before the age of 2.

The presence of a Dandy-Walker malformation along with neurocutaneous melanosis, as occurs in 10% of symptomatic patients, further deteriorates prognosis. The median survival time for these patients is 6.5 months after becoming symptomatic.

Basilar invagination can be present at birth. If the condition develops after birth, it is usually the result of injury or diseases. If due to injury, about half the time it is caused by vehicle or bicycle accidents; 25% of the time by falls and 10% of the time by recreational activities such as diving accidents.

It also occurs in patients with bone diseases, such as osteomalacia, rheumatoid arthritis, Paget's disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome, and osteogenesis imperfecta.

Most people with mild to moderate symptoms do not get worse. While many improve in the short term after surgery this improvement decreases somewhat with time. A number of factors present before surgery are able to predict the outcome after surgery, with people with depression, cardiovascular disease and scoliosis doing in general worse while those with more severe stenosis beforehand and better overall health doing better.

The natural evolution of disc disease and degeneration leads to stiffening of the intervertebral joint. This leads to osteophyte formation—a bony overgrowth about the joint. This process is called spondylosis, and is part of the normal aging of the spine. This has been seen in studies of normal and diseased spines. Degenerative changes begin to occur without symptoms as early as age 25–30 years. It is not uncommon for people to experience at least one severe case of low back pain by the age of 35 years. This can be expected to improve and become less prevalent as the individual develops osteophyte formation around the discs.

In the US workers' compensation system, once the threshold of two major spinal surgeries is reached, the vast majority of workers will never return to any form of gainful employment. Beyond two spinal surgeries, any more are likely to make the patient worse, not better.

The precise causes of syringomyelia are still unknown although blockage to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid has been known to be an important factor since the 1970s. Scientists in the UK and America continue to explore the mechanisms that lead to the formation of syrinxes in the spinal cord. It has been demonstrated a block to the free flow of cerebrospinal fluid is a contributory factor in the pathogenesis of the disease. Duke University in America and Warwick University are conducting research to explore genetic features of syringomyelia.

Surgical techniques are also being refined by the neurosurgical research community. Successful procedures expand the area around the cerebellum and spinal cord, thus improving the flow of cerebrospinal fluid thereby reducing the syrinx.

It is also important to understand the role of birth defects in the development of hindbrain malformations that can lead to syringomyelia as syringomyelia is a feature of intrauterine life and is also associated with spina bifida. Learning when these defects occur during the development of the fetus can help us understand this and similar disorders, and may lead to preventive treatment that can stop the formation of some birth abnormalities. Dietary supplements of folic acid prior to pregnancy have been found to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and are also implicated in prevention of cleft palate and some cardiac defects.

Diagnostic technology is another area for continued research. MRI has enabled scientists to see conditions in the spine, including syringomyelia before symptoms appear. A new technology, known as dynamic MRI, allows investigators to view spinal fluid flow within the syrinx. CT scans allow physicians to see abnormalities in the brain, and other diagnostic tests have also improved greatly with the availability of new, non-toxic, contrast dyes.

Spinal cord compression develops when the spinal cord is compressed by bone fragments from a vertebral fracture, a tumor, abscess, ruptured intervertebral disc or other lesion. It is regarded as a medical emergency independent of its cause, and requires swift diagnosis and treatment to prevent long-term disability due to irreversible spinal cord injury.

Generally, there are two forms of syringomyelia: congenital and acquired. (In addition, one form of the disorder involves the brainstem. The brainstem controls many of our vital functions, such as respiration and heartbeat. When syrinxes affect the brainstem, the condition is called syringobulbia.)

The systemic and ocular prognosis for intraocular schwannoma is positive. While a patient may lose an eye, they are unlikely to encounter metastasized growth or life-threatening malignant change. Although follow-up data has shown the potential need for re-excision and side-effects, these issues are minor and the general outcome for patients is excellent.

Vehicle-related SCI is prevented with measures including societal and individual efforts to reduce driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, distracted driving, and drowsy driving. Other efforts include increasing road safety (such as marking hazards and adding lighting) and vehicle safety, both to prevent accidents (such as routine maintenance and antilock brakes) and to mitigate the damage of crashes (such as head restraints, air bags, seat belts, and child safety seats). Falls can be prevented by making changes to the environment, such as nonslip materials and grab bars in bathtubs and showers, railings for stairs, child and safety gates for windows. Gun-related injuries can be prevented with conflict resolution training, gun safety education campaigns, and changes to the technology of guns (such as trigger locks) to improve their safety. Sports injuries can be prevented with changes to sports rules and equipment to increase safety, and education campaigns to reduce risky practices such as diving into water of unknown depth or head-first tackling in association football.

Tethered spinal cord can be caused by various conditions but the main cause is when tissue attachments limit the movement of the spinal cord in the spinal column which causes abnormal stretching of the cord. The tethered spinal cord syndrome is correlated with having the causes:

- Spina bifida

- Occulta

- Mylomeningocele

- Meningocele

- History of spinal trauma

- History of spinal surgery

- Tumor(s) in the spinal column

- Thickened and/or tight filum terminale

- Lipoma(s) in the spinal column

- Dermal Sinus Tract (congenital deformity)

- Diastematomyelia (split spinal cord)

Tethered spinal cord is a disorder and not a mechanism so it does not spread to other people and there are no measures that can be done to prevent it beforehand. The only preventative measure that is successful is to surgically untether the spinal cord though there might already be irreversible damage.