Subacute combined degeneration due to copper deficiency.
There is growing clinical evidence supporting a connection between copper deficiency and subacute combined degeneration. While nearly half of patients with copper deficiency myelopathy exhibit MRI abnormalities, signal changes are often ill-defined in distribution. We report a patient with sensory ataxia and spastic paraplegia from copper deficiency whose MRI demonstrates abnormal signal restricted to the dorsal and lateral columns, providing clear radiological support of an association between hypocupremia and combined system degeneration.
Ferrara
Joseph M
JM
Division of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. joseph.ferrara@duke.edu
Skeen
Mark B
MB
Edwards
Nancy J
NJ
Gray
Linda
L
Massey
E Wayne
EW
D000368:Aged; D003300:Copper / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy
D003300:Copper