RECURRENT MYELITIS

Three patients presented with acute complete transverse myelopathy whi ch relapsed several times at the same site. These patients, two women and one man, had two to five attacks spanning three to seven years. Al l patients underwent detailed investigations including a complete myel ogram and serial evoked potential studies. Oligoclonal bands were pres ent in the CSF in one patient. Brain MRI was normal in two patients; M RI of the spinal cord was abnormal and showed cord oedema with multipl e areas of hyperintense signals on T2 and proton density weighted scan s and hypointense signals on T1 weighted images in areas corresponding to the clinical level, suggesting an inflammatory/demyelinating disor der. These patients may represent a relapsing demyelinating disorder r estricted to the spinal cord, distinct from multiple sclerosis.