Read more about this disease, some with Classification – Types – Signs and symptoms – Genetics – Pathophysiology – Diagnosis – Screening – Prevention – Treatment and management – Cures and much more, some including pictures and video when available.
Transverse myelitis is a neurological disorder caused by an inflammatory process of the grey and white matter of the spinal cord, and can cause axonal demyelination.
This demyelination arises idiopathically following infections or vaccination, or due to multiple sclerosis. One major theory of the cause is that an immune-mediated inflammation is present as the result of exposure to a viral antigen.
The lesions are inflammatory, and involve the spinal cord on both sides. With acute transverse myelitis, the onset is sudden and progresses rapidly in hours and days. The lesions can be present anywhere in the spinal cord, though it is usually restricted to only a small portion.
In some cases, the disease is presumed to be caused by viral infections or vaccinations and has also been associated with spinal cord injuries, immune reactions, schistosomiasis and insufficient blood flow through spinal cord vessels. Acute myelitis accounts for 4 to 5 percent of all cases of neuroborreliosis.[1] Symptoms include weakness and numbness of the limbs as well as motor, sensory, and sphincter deficits. Severe backpain may occur in some patients at the onset of the disease. Treatment is usually symptomatic only, corticosteroids being used with limited success. A major differentiation or distinction to be made is a similar condition due to compression of the spinal cord in the spinal canal, due to disease of the surrounding vertebral column.
Prognosis for complete recovery is generally poor. Recovery from transverse myelitis usually begins between weeks 2 and 12 following onset and may continue for up to 2 years in some patients, many of whom are left with considerable disabilities. Some patients show no signs of recovery whatsoever.[2]However, if treated early, some patients experience complete or near complete recovery.
The symptoms and signs depend upon the level of the spinal cord involved and the extent of the involvement of the various long tracts. In some cases, there is almost total paralysis and sensory loss below the level of the lesion. In other cases, such loss is only partial.
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