Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion

Changed by Rohit Sharma, 25 Aug 2023

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Disclosures - updated 18 Aug 2023: Nothing to disclose

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Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesions (LESCL), also known as longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), represent extensive involvement of the spinal cord, with abnormal T2 signal traversing at least three vertebral body segments in length.

Differential diagnosis

They are typical of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) but can be seen in a number of other conditions, including ^1-4-5:

neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)
multiple sclerosis
- confluent short segment lesions mimicking LESCL
myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD)
autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy
systemic illness
other causes of transverse myelitis
- idiopathic (aquaporin-4 negative)
- post-infectious
vascular
- spinal cord infarction
- dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF)

-Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesions (LESCL), also known as longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), represent extensive involvement of the spinal cord, with abnormal T2 signal traversing at least three vertebral body segments in length.<h4>Differential diagnosis</h4>They are typical of <a href="/articles/neuromyelitis-optica-spectrum-disorder">neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)</a> but can be seen in a number of other conditions, including 1-4:<ul>
+Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesions (LESCL), also known as longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), represent extensive involvement of the spinal cord, with abnormal T2 signal traversing at least three vertebral body segments in length.<h4>Differential diagnosis</h4>They are typical of <a href="/articles/neuromyelitis-optica-spectrum-disorder">neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)</a> but can be seen in a number of other conditions, including 1-5:<ul>

References changed:

5. Birnbaum J, Lalji A, Piccione E, Izbudak I. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Spinal Cord in the Evaluation of 3 Patients with Sensory Neuronopathies: Diagnostic Assessment, Indications of Treatment Response, and Impact of Autoimmunity: A Case Report. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017;96(49):e8483. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000008483">doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000008483</a> - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29245216">Pubmed</a>

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Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion

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