A Case of Vacuolar Myelopathy in Patient with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / 감염

ABSTRACT

The spinal cord is a commonly affected site in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Even though the most common disease of the spinal cord is vacuolar myelopathy, there is no case report yet in Korea. We experienced a case of suspicious vacuolar myelopathy in a 33 year-old male patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The patient presented with progressive paraparesis, gait disturbance, urinary difficulty, and the loss of sensation below thoracic spine 6~7 dermatome. Cerebrospinal fluid showed mild pleocytosis, increased protein level, and normal glucose content. The spine MRI showed extensive ill defined areas of increased signal intensity through the visualized lower cervical and thoracic spinal cord. Steroid therapy with antiretroviral drugs appeared to be ineffective to improve the symptoms of the patient.