Transverse Myelitis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders

Transverse myelitis is defined as inflammation of the spinal cord, named because of its typical clinical presentation with bandlike symptoms of altered sensation or pain in a horizontal fashion—at a specific dermatome level. Radiographic patterns might vary but the idiopathic form is more frequent to present as involvement of 3-4 vertebral segments and both sides of the cord. It is now recognized that there are numerous other causes as well as the idiopathic type, with often atypical features and geographic variation. There is also increasing recognition of other forms of myelitis, particularly the longitudinally extensive manifestation with involvement of 3 or more vertebral segments. Neuromyelitis optica, one of these subtypes can be diagnosed by means of an antibody assessment. The picture is more complicated with the expansion of the description to involve neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, new antibodies such as myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and the inclusion of an antibody-negative variant. This article describes the different entities of transverse myelitis, with a particular focus on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.