BrainWaves #97 What is so idiopathic about transverse myelitis?

MedLink Neurology Podcast is delighted to feature selected episodes from BrainWaves, courtesy of James E Siegler MD, its originator and host. BrainWaves is an academic audio podcast whose mission is to educate medical providers through clinical cases and topical reviews in neurology, medicine, and the humanities, and episodes originally aired from 2016 to 2021.

Originally released: February 15, 2018

We've abused the term "idiopathic." Not all clinical conditions have to have an unclear cause. More and more, we are finding out the answers. This week, using transverse myelitis as an example, Dr. Clyde Markowitz shares his experience in working up unknown etiologies of spinal cord inflammation.

Produced by James E Siegler. Music by Quantum Jazz, Rui, and Steve Combs. Voiceover by Erika Mejia. BrainWaves' podcasts and online content are intended for medical education only and should not be used for clinical decision-making.

REFERENCES

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Cobo Calvo A, Mañé Martínez MA, Alentorn-Palau A, Bruna Escuer J, Romero Pinel L, Martínez-Yélamos S. Idiopathic acute transverse myelitis: outcome and conversion to multiple sclerosis in a large series. BMC Neurol 2013;13:135. PMID 24090445

Greenberg BM, Frohman EM. Immune-mediated myelopathies. Continuum (Minneap Minn) 2015;21(1 Spinal Cord Disorders):121-31. PMID 25651221

Jacob A, Weinshenker BG. An approach to the diagnosis of acute transverse myelitis. Semin Neurol 2008;28(1):105-20. PMID 18256991

Kimbrough DJ, Mealy MA, Simpson A, Levy M. Predictors of recurrence following an initial episode of transverse myelitis. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2014;1(1):e4. PMID 25340060

Zalewski NL, Flanagan EP, Keegan BM. Evaluation of idiopathic transverse myelitis revealing specific myelopathy diagnoses. Neurology 2018;90(2):e96-e102. PMID 29247071

We believe that the principles expressed or implied in the podcast remain valid, but certain details may be superseded by evolving knowledge since the episode's original release date.