Catastrophic transverse myelitis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

A 24-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our hospital suffering from high fever and progressive paralysis in both legs. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord showed high-intensity signals from C5 to Th4 and from Th7 to L1 on T2-weighted images. The patient was diagnosed as having acute t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Modern rheumatology 2005-04, Vol.15 (2), p.130
Main Authors: Yamanaka, Futoshi, Migita, Kiyoshi, Ichinose, Katsuhiro, Ohno, Naoyoshi, Kimura, Hironori, Ishimaru, Hideki, Matsuoka, Yojiro, Eguchi, Katsumi, Ezaki, Hironori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Drug therapy
Lupus
Medical diagnosis
Paralysis
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Summary:A 24-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our hospital suffering from high fever and progressive paralysis in both legs. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord showed high-intensity signals from C5 to Th4 and from Th7 to L1 on T2-weighted images. The patient was diagnosed as having acute transverse myelitis (TM), which was a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus based on the serological findings. Despite aggressive immunosuppressive treatments including corticosteroid pulse therapy, plasmapheresis, and intravenous cyclophosphamide, the paralysis of her lower extremities did not improve. In the catastrophic type of lupus-associated TM, which develops extensively and longitudinally along the spinal cord, the prognosis still seems to be poor despite intensive treatments. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1439-7595
1439-7609
DOI:10.1007/s10165-004-0376-4