Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder associated with herpes zoster:a case report / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

We report here a case of myelitis of the cervical spinal cord in a 59-year-old woman presented with right arm weakness and numbness. Cervical myelitis developed three weeks after the eruption of zoster rash from the C2 to C5 dermatomes. The serum aquaporin-4 antibody was detected using the cell based transfection immunofluorescence assay. MRI of the cervical spine revealed abnormal cord signal. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis demonstrated varicella-zoster virus DNA was not detected. The patient was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, supporting the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders is triggered by infection.