TY - JOUR
T1 - Acute flaccid myelitis
T2 - Current status and diagnostic challenges
AU - Fang, Xiang
AU - Huda, Ruksana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Korean Neurological Association.
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a sudden-onset polio-like neuromuscular disability found commonly in young children. There is an increasing incidence of confirmed AFM cases in the USA and other countries in recent years, and in association with nonpolio enterovirus infection. This represents a significant challenge to clinicians and causes significant concern to the general public. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is the long-known limb paralytic syndrome caused by a viral pathogen. AFM is a subset of AFP that is also characterized by a limb paralytic condition, but it has certain distinct features such as lesions in magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord gray matter. AFM leads to spinal cord, brainstem, or motor neuron dysfunction. The clinical phenotypes, pathology, and patient presentation of AFM closely mimic AFP. This article provides a concise overview of our current understanding of AFM and the clinical features that distinguish AFM from AFP and similar other neurological infectious and autoimmune diseases or disorders. We also discuss the diagnosis, clinical pathology, possible pathogenetic mechanisms, and currently available therapies.
AB - Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a sudden-onset polio-like neuromuscular disability found commonly in young children. There is an increasing incidence of confirmed AFM cases in the USA and other countries in recent years, and in association with nonpolio enterovirus infection. This represents a significant challenge to clinicians and causes significant concern to the general public. Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is the long-known limb paralytic syndrome caused by a viral pathogen. AFM is a subset of AFP that is also characterized by a limb paralytic condition, but it has certain distinct features such as lesions in magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord gray matter. AFM leads to spinal cord, brainstem, or motor neuron dysfunction. The clinical phenotypes, pathology, and patient presentation of AFM closely mimic AFP. This article provides a concise overview of our current understanding of AFM and the clinical features that distinguish AFM from AFP and similar other neurological infectious and autoimmune diseases or disorders. We also discuss the diagnosis, clinical pathology, possible pathogenetic mechanisms, and currently available therapies.
KW - Enterovirus
KW - Myelitis
KW - Paralysis
KW - acute disease
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U2 - 10.3988/jcn.2020.16.3.376
DO - 10.3988/jcn.2020.16.3.376
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32657057
AN - SCOPUS:85088496266
SN - 1738-6586
VL - 16
SP - 376
EP - 382
JO - Journal of Clinical Neurology (Korea)
JF - Journal of Clinical Neurology (Korea)
IS - 3
ER -