title: Acute and chronic evolution of MRI findings in a case of posterior spinal cord ischemia.
abstract: METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Reveal the evolution of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pattern in a patient with a posterior spinal artery infarction, which belongs to a subgroup of spinal cord ischemia syndromes and presents a rare cause of spinal cord injury. Our report underlines that diagnosis of spinal cord ischemia and thus clinical decision making remains challenging.
  
  
  METHODS
  University Hospital of Innsbruck and University Hospital of Salzburg, Austria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Here we present clinical, electrophysiological and imaging data in the acute, subacute and chronic phase of a woman who developed signs and symptoms related to a bilateral posterior spinal cord infarction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the clinical nadir (24 h after symptom onset), MRI did not exhibit T2 hyperintensities. However, such MRI changes were detected 8 days after symptom onset and persisted until the latest follow-up at 5 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Repeated MRI constitutes an indispensable diagnostic and follow-up tool for spinal cord ischemia. The imaging data in accordance with the electrophysiological measurements correlated well with the clinical presentation in the subacute und chronic phase. Therefore, further studies might allow using MRI following spinal cord ischemia as a prognostic marker for an individual outcome.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria [2] SCI-TReCS (Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg), Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria [3] Institute of Experimental Neuroregeneration, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grassner
authors.affiliation: Division for Neuroradiology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Klausner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Division for Neuroradiology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golaszewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leis
authors.affiliation: 1] SCI-TReCS (Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg), Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria [2] Institute of Molecular Regenerative Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aigner
authors.affiliation: 1] SCI-TReCS (Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg), Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria [2] Institute of Experimental Neuroregeneration, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Couillard-Despres
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria [2] SCI-TReCS (Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Center Salzburg), Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trinka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020760:Spinal Cord Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis*