Korean J Infect Dis.  2001 Oct;33(5):350-353.

A Case of Vacuolar Myelopathy in Patient with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

The spinal cord is a commonly affected site in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Even though the most common disease of the spinal cord is vacuolar myelopathy, there is no case report yet in Korea. We experienced a case of suspicious vacuolar myelopathy in a 33 year-old male patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The patient presented with progressive paraparesis, gait disturbance, urinary difficulty, and the loss of sensation below thoracic spine 6~7 dermatome. Cerebrospinal fluid showed mild pleocytosis, increased protein level, and normal glucose content. The spine MRI showed extensive ill defined areas of increased signal intensity through the visualized lower cervical and thoracic spinal cord. Steroid therapy with antiretroviral drugs appeared to be ineffective to improve the symptoms of the patient.

Keyword

HIV; Vacuolar myelopathy; AIDS

MeSH Terms

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome*
Adult
Cerebrospinal Fluid
Gait
Glucose
HIV
Humans
Korea
Leukocytosis
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Paraparesis
Sensation
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Diseases*
Spine
Glucose
Full Text Links
  • KJID
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr