Spinal cord infarction during use of zolmitriptan: a case report

A 50-year-old woman with a history of migraine without aura, predominantly occurring around her menstrual periods, developed a spinal cord lesion following the use of zolmitriptan. The partial lesion of the cord at T7 predominantly involved the spinothalamic pathways on the left side. Clinical features suggested that the lesion was an ischemic infarct, and this was confirmed by an MRI scan. There were no other known risk factors for vascular disease. There has been mild improvement of her symptoms, but most of the symptoms did not resolve. There are isolated case reports of stroke secondary to the use of triptans, however, this is the first case of spinal cord infarction reported following the use of this group of drugs. The temporal relationship suggests that the spinal cord infarction may be related to the use of zolmitriptan.