AUTOPSY REPORT OF ACUTE NECROTIZING OPTICOMYELOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH THYROID-CANCER

We report an autopsied case of paraneoplastic necrotizing myelopathy. The patient had bilateral blindness, quardriplegia, and dyspnea of acu te onset and died without remission 7 weeks later. The severe tissue n ecrosis and demyelination were found in the optic chiasm and from the medulla oblongata throughout the whole length of spinal cord. A papill ary carcinoma was found in the thyroid gland at autopsy. In the presen t case IgG, myelin basic protein and activated helper T cells were inc reased in the CSF at onset, suggesting a mechanism of autoimmune demye lination for the condition.