title: Thoracic Radiculopathy Resulting From Retrograde Neuronal Degeneration.
abstract: We report a case of thoracic radiculopathy caused by retrograde degeneration from an intercostal nerve mass. A 74-year-old woman presented with thoracic radicular pain in the T4 dermatome. Needle electromyography revealed abnormal spontaneous activity in the left paraspinal muscle. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine showed no signs of a herniated thoracic disk or root compression but revealed a mass along the intercostal space. The pathologic findings included perineural infiltration. A mass located along the intercostal space approximately 1.8 cm from the dorsal root ganglion may cause thoracic radiculopathy via retrograde degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea(∗).
authors.forename: Dae Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seonam University College of Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Republic of Korea(†).
authors.forename: Jung Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea(‡). Electronic address: DRTLC@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Yoon Ghil
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001416:Back Pain; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D064170:Paraspinal Muscles; D011843:Radiculopathy