Golimumab therapy-induced isolated myelitis in a Behcet's disease patient: a case report

Although central nervous system demyelinating lesions as a side effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors have been reported, this treatment is still used in some autoimmune diseases.

A 34-year-old Syrian male presented with difficulty walking and tingling, and numbness on the left side of his body over the next 4 days, during golimumab treatment. Over the past 2 months, fatigue, recurrent calf spasms, and extremity numbness were found. Sense disturbance and hyper-reflexes of the lower extremities were found on neurological examination. MRI demonstrated variant demyelinating lesions. Steroid therapy was initiated, and golimumab was discontinued, with good outcomes as the symptoms have disappeared.

The incidence of demyelination following anti-TNF therapy is uncommon. Most studies have reported that the average time between the anti-TNFα inhibitor treatment and the demyelinating lesion presence is from 5 months to 4 years, and these lesions may appear even after the cessation of the anti-TNFα inhibitor; meanwhile, a total cure of the symptoms after treatment cessation happened in our case, which suggests a causal relation, although a temporal relationship, in this case, cannot be established. The authors believe that golimumab plays a role in the demyelinating lesions development, although it may be a clinical manifestation during the course of Behcet's disease.

Caution should be taken for the side effects of Golimumab treatment, such as demyelinating lesions, and long-term monitoring of patients with Bechet disease is required.