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Hepatic myelopathy with spastic paraparesis
Ufuk Utku1, Talip Asil, Kemal Balci
1Univercity of Trakya Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Edirne 22030, Turkey.
Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
|October 6, 2005
Summary
Hepatic myelopathy, a rare neurological complication, can now be diagnosed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This study shows TMS can identify myelopathy in patients with chronic liver disease, aiding diagnosis when other tests are inconclusive.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neurophysiology
Background:
- Hepatic myelopathy is a rare neurological complication of chronic liver disease with portal hypertension.
- No specific diagnostic tools currently exist for hepatic myelopathy.
- Neuropathological findings include demyelination and axonal loss in the lateral corticospinal tracts.
Observation:
- Two patients presented with spastic paraparesis.
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies indicated myelopathy in both patients.
- Other potential diagnoses were systematically excluded.
Findings:
- TMS suggested myelopathy in patients with spastic paraparesis.
- This supports the utility of TMS in diagnosing hepatic myelopathy.
- The findings align with TMS's known role in assessing motor pathway conductivity.
Implications:
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for hepatic myelopathy.
- This could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of this rare neurological condition.
- Further research is warranted to validate TMS as a standard diagnostic method for hepatic myelopathy.