Differential diagnosis of acute myelopathies

Diagnosis of acute myelopathy applies to subjects with acute motor involvement, segmental sensory loss and sphincter dysfunction, reaching a maximum no later than 4 weeks after onset. Among the different causes of acute myelopathy (e.g. compressive, vascular, traumatic or toxic lesions, paraneoplastic involvement and electrical injury), acute myelitis due to infective agents or to an autoimmune-inflammatory process frequently causes problems relating to the differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and its potential risk of developing MS.