SUMMARY We report 3 patients with previously undiagnosed spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs), who developed acute paraparesis following lumbar epidural steroid injection. MR imaging demonstrated spinal cord T2 hyperintensity, edema and/or enhancement of the conus, and intradural enlarged vascular flow voids. Spinal angiography confirmed SDAVFs arising from pedicles remote from the site...

Even though an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide are infected with the oncogenic retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), its epidemiology is poorly understood, and little effort has been made to reduce its prevalence. In response to this situation, the Global Virus Network launched a taskforce in 2014 to develop new methods of prevention and treatment of HTLV-1 infection ...

Human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is a persistent virus that causes adult T cell leukemia and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Studies on rabbits have shown that viral proteins encoded by the open reading frames pX-I and pX-II are required for the establishment of the persistent infection. To examine the in vivo production of these proteins in humans, we have...

Acute neurologic deterioration is not a rare event in the surgical decompression for thoracic spinal stenosis. We report a case of transient paraparesis after decompressive laminectomy in a 50-yr-old male patient with multi-level thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum and cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Decompressive laminectomy from T9 to T11 was performed...

We present a family in which an initial clinical diagnosis of autosomal dominant pure hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP) was made on the basis of a three generation pedigree in which both males and females presented with a spastic paraparesis. Subsequent biochemical and genetic analysis revealed that the family was in fact affected by the adrenomyeloneuropathy subtype of X-linked adrenoleukod...

UNLABELLED X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a rare genetic condition caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene that result in accumulation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) in various tissues. This leads to demyelination in the CNS and impaired steroidogenesis in the adrenal cortex and testes. A 57-year-old gentleman was referred for the assessment of bilateral gynaecomastia of 6 mont...

BACKGROUND X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy is a peroxisomial disorder caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene. Adrenomyeloneuropathy is the second most frequent phenotype (25-46%) of this disease and classically presents in adulthood with spastic paraparesis. Female heterozygotes can be symptomatic, but they are frequently misdiagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. CASE REPORT We report a novel m...

BACKGROUND Spinal cord herniation was first described in 1974. It generally occurs in middle-aged adults in the thoracic spine. Symptoms typically include back pain and progressive paraparesis characterized by Brown-Séquard syndrome. Surgical reduction of the hernia improves the attendant symptoms and signs, even in patients with longstanding deficits. CASE DESCRIPTION A 66-year-old female wi...