Jiah Kim, MD, So-Hyun Park, MD, Il-Han Yoo, MD, Yong-Sung Kim, MD, Suk-Won Ahn, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is an acute inflammatory disease of the spinal cord, characterized
by rapid onset of bilateral neurological symptoms involving weakness, sensory disturbance, and
autonomic impairment over hours or days. Relapsing ATM has been reported in approximately
25-33% of patients with ATM. Recently, we treated a patient with 6 episodes of relapsing myelitis
who had not been diagnosed with any specific etiology. A 48-year-old female visited the hospital
with complaints of leg weakness and numbness in both hands for 4 days. She had no autoimmune
disease, history of infection, or notable family history. Cervical spine MRI showed diffuse T2 high
signal intensity in the spinal cord with enhancement, and she was treated with high doses of intravenous
methylprednisolone. Unexpectedly, she experienced 6 courses of relapsing and remitting
acute myelitis despite extensive immunotherapy. The etiology of relapsing myelitis is not certain in
this case. Large clinical studies of disease entity, etiology, and guidelines of immunotreatment for
patients with idiopathic relapsing myelitis are needed.
Journal of Multiple Sclerosis 9(2):47-50, 2018
