Spinal MRI in progressive myeloneuropathy associated with vitamin E deficiency

We describe a patient with a progressive neurological disorder consisting of ataxia, loss of proprioception and pyramidal tract dysfunction in his sixth decade. He had severe vitamin E deficiency due to fat malabsorption secondary to chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Sural nerve biopsy revealed a reduced number of myelinated fibres. MRI of the cervical spine showed high-signal lesions on T2-weighted images in the posterior columns, correlating well with the clinical findings.