[Epidural lipomatosis as a complication of a long-term glucocorticoid therapy]

In a 47-year-old patient with asymmetrical proximal paraparesis a long cervical and thoracic spinal epidural lipomatosis was found, by computed tomography and (the first such case) magnetic resonance imaging, to be the cause of the signs of a transverse cord lesion. Such a space-occupying mass is a rare complication of long-term corticosteroid medication--in this case administered for over seven years for bronchial asthma. Contrary to the majority of similar reported cases, no decompression operation was performed, because the neurological signs had not progressed and the clinical findings in fact quickly regressed once the steroid dosage had been reduced and they showed a clear dependence on the amount of steroid administered.