Intramedullary disorders diagnosed by MRI. Clinical course in 23 cases

We report the clinical course of 23 cases with intramedullary disorders diagnosed by MRI. Spinal vascular disease was the most common, and occurred in 11 cases, intramedullary tumor occurred in 6, and multiple sclerosis, myelitis, spinal edema each in 2. The characteristic MRI findings of the intramedullary disorders were spinal cord swelling on T1 weighted image and changes in the intensity on the T2 weighted image. Surgical treatment was performed in 5 of the 11 with spinal vascular disease and in 6 with an intra-medullary tumor. One patient with AV malformation underwent embolization of the spinal artery. The other 11 received conservative treatment. The period of follow-up ranged from 6 months to 9 years after onset. Complete recovery from symptoms was achieved in only 2 patients, some recovery was achieved in 8, no change in 10, and deterioration occurred in 3. In conclusion, it has become easy to diagnose intramedullary disorders by utilizing MRI. However, an accurate qualitative diagnosis is difficult except for spinal vascular disease. Complete recovery from the symptoms of intramedullary disorders remains difficult to achieve by available treatments. (author)