Infectious Myelopathies

Abstract

In the setting of both globalization and increasing use of immunosuppressive therapy, infectious myelopathies are an important cause of morbidity worldwide. Clinical spinal cord syndromes related to infection are varied, including transverse myelitis, acute flaccid paralysis related to anterior horn cell involvement, spinal cord compression, chronic spastic paraparesis, and myeloradiculitis. Causative pathogens include viruses, parasites, pyogenic and atypical bacteria, and fungi. The epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of selected organisms will be discussed in this article.