Global InformationMyelomalacia information
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| MRI image shows spinal bleeding (myelomalacia). |
Myelomalacia is a pathological term referring to the softening of the spinal cord.[1] Possible causes of myelomalacia include cervical myelopathy, hemorrhagic infarction, or acute injury, such as that caused by intervertebral disc extrusion.[2]
In advanced stages, this disorder causes flaccid paraplegia (impairment of motor function in lower extremities), total areflexia (below normal or absence of reflexes) of the pelvic limbs and anus, loss of deep pain perception caudal (toward the coccyx, or tail) to the site of spinal cord injury, muscular atrophy (wasting away of muscle tissue), depressed mental state, and respiratory difficulty due to intercostal (muscles that run between the ribs) and diaphragmatic paralysis.[3] Gradual cranial migration of the neurological deficits (problems relating to the nervous system), is known as ascending syndrome and is said to be a typical feature of diffuse myelomalacia. Although clinical signs of myelomalacia are observed within the onset (start) of paraplegia, sometimes they may become evident only in the post-operative period, or even days after the onset of paraplegia. Death from myelomalacia may occur as a result of respiratory paralysis when the ascending lesion (abnormal damaged tissue) reaches the motor nuclei of the phrenic nerves (nerves between the C3-C5 region of the spine) in the cervical (neck) region.[4]
- ^ Platt SR, McConnell JF, Bestbier M (2006). "Magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of ascending hemorrhagic myelomalacia in a dog". Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound. 47 (1): 78–82. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8261.2005.00109.x. PMID 16429989.
- ^ Quencer RM, Sheldon JJ, Post MJ, Diaz RD, Montalvo BM, Green BA, Eismont FJ (July 1986). "MRI of the chronically injured cervical spinal cord". AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology. 147 (1): 125–32. doi:10.2214/ajr.147.1.125. PMID 3487204.
- ^ McMinn P, Stratov I, Nagarajan L, Davis S (January 2001). "Neurological manifestations of enterovirus 71 infection in children during an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Western Australia". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 32 (2): 236–42. doi:10.1086/318454. JSTOR 4482452. PMID 11170913.
- ^ Langdon FW (1994). "Myelomalacia, With Especial Reference To Diagnosis and Treatment". The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 32 (5): 233–44. doi:10.1097/00005053-190504000-00002.