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Review
. 2021 Jan 3;21(1):3.
doi: 10.1007/s11910-020-01088-6.

Immune-Mediated Disorders Affecting the Spinal Cord and the Spine

Gina S Perez Giraldo  1 , Jorge G Ortiz Garcia  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Immune-Mediated Disorders Affecting the Spinal Cord and the Spine

Gina S Perez Giraldo et al. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: To review the most recent advances and provide a description of the most common autoimmune diseases causing myelitis and selective spine disorders. The ultimate goal of this article is to facilitate the prompt recognition of these diseases.

Recent findings: The recent discovery of biomarkers such as aquaporin 4 (AQP4) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies has changed our understanding of autoimmune diseases affecting the spinal cord as well as their treatment and outcomes. Autoimmune neurology is an increasingly evolving field that encompasses a broad spectrum of autoimmune-inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). Autoimmune disorders of the spinal cord are a heterogeneous group of myelopathies with a broad differential diagnosis and many of them have been recently identified. Prompt recognition of these myelopathies is important as some of them are treatable, which could improve patient outcomes and prevent disability.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; Myelin oligodendrocyte antibody; Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; Neurosarcoidosis; Paraneoplastic myelitis; Transverse myelitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Sagittal spine MRI T2/STIR sequence shows increased signal along the anterior aspect of the spinal cord at T9 and dorsal aspect at T11 in a patient with MS myelitis. b Axial and sagittal spine MRI T1 post-contrast demonstrates enhancing lesions in the central spinal cord at T2-T4 and T5-T6. Also, a T2/STIR sequence shows signal abnormalities in the same regions consistent with NMOSD. c Sagittal spine MRI T2 FLAIR sequence demonstrates signal changes in the gray matter from the cervical spine extending caudally to the conus medullaris in a patient with ADEM with positive MOG antibodies. Image 1c courtesy of Dr. Cherie Herren. MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; STIR, short-TI inversion recovery; FLAIR, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery; ADEM, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; MOG, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein; MS, multiple sclerosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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