Hepatic myelopathy: an unusual neurological complication of advanced hepatic disease

Intern Med. 1994 Nov;33(11):718-22. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.33.718.

Abstract

Encephalopathy is widely known as one of the neurological complications of chronic hepatic disease. Recently, the occurrence of progressive myelopathy in patients with advanced hepatic disease has been well documented and differentiated from encephalopathy. We describe a 76-year-old man with decompensatory liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus infection who suffered from progressive paraplegia. Postmortem examination revealed demyelination of the lateral column of the spinal cord, especially of the thoracic segment. No evidence of spontaneous portosystemic shunts was found. These findings suggest that the patient had been affected with hepatic myelopathy, which is a rare complication of liver cirrhosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Brain / pathology
  • Demyelinating Diseases / etiology
  • Demyelinating Diseases / pathology
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / etiology
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / pathology
  • Hepatitis C / complications*
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis / complications*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / virology
  • Male
  • Paraplegia / etiology
  • Spinal Cord / pathology
  • Spinal Cord Diseases / etiology*
  • Spinal Cord Diseases / pathology