CHRONIC PROGRESSIVE MYELOPATHY - DIAGNOSTIC-ANALYSIS OF CASES WITH AND WITHOUT SENSORY INVOLVEMENT

Chronic progressive myelopathies occurring in the absence of lesion di ssemination continue to present a difficult diagnostic challenge. In t he present study 19 patients with progressive myelopathy were evaluate d retrospectively. Patients were divided into groups based on the pres ence or absence of sensory involvement. Thirteen patients had both mot or and sensory involvement and only 6 had a pure motor syndrome. Of th e 13 patients with sensory involvement seven (54%) had evidence of les ion dissemination and probable MS. Only 1/6 (16%) of those with pure m otor syndromes had evidence of lesion dissemination. Those patients we re more likely to suffer from hereditary spastic paraparesis or primar y lateral sclerosis. It is suggested that patients with chronic progre ssive myelopathies involving both sensory and motor systems without ev idence of lesion dissemination may have a variant of MS in which there is isolated involvement of the spinal cord.