The role of spinal MRI in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Clinical cases

Abstract

Introduction. The diagnosis of MS requires demonstration of dissemination of demyelinating lesions in both time and space using strict clinical and paraclinical criteria. However, many other diseases exhibit dissemination both in time and space, thus the diagnosis of MS should be questioned when clinical or laboratory findings are unexpected or atipical. Great care must be taken to exclude treatable etiologies (compressive spinal cord lesions, arteriovenous malformations, cavernous angiomas and other). Objectives. Reveal the importance of spinal MRI in suspected MS diagnosis. Results. The patients in these cases were initially misdiagnosed with MS, but the cervical and thoracic spine MRI revealed the spinal diseases: in the first case - epidural arachnoid cyst with spinal cord compression, in the second - spinal cord arteriovenous malformations, in the third and the fourth - syringomyelia. [...].