title: Short segment myelitis as a first manifestation of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Some patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) present with spinal cord lesions extending fewer than three vertebral segments (short transverse myelitis, STM), hindering an early diagnosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the frequency and imaging characteristics of STM lesions in patients presenting with myelitis as an initial manifestation of NMOSD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients seen at three referral hospitals in Korea between June 2005 and March 2015 who met the following inclusion criteria were recruited for review: seropositivity for aquaporin-4 antibody, initial presentation with myelitis and spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed within 1 month of initial myelitis onset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 76 enrolled patients, 65 (85.5%) collectively had 69 longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis lesions, while the remaining 11 (14.5%) had a total of 15 STM lesions. Of the 15 STM lesions, 5 spanned 2.5 vertebral segments, 6 were continuous over two segments, 3 showed a length of 1.5 segments and 1 was confined to a single segment. On axial imaging, all of the STM lesions involved the central grey matter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These MRI findings suggested that STM does not preclude the possibility of an NMOSD diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: So-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
authors.forename: In Hye
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Su
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute and Hospital of National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.
authors.forename: Ho Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D051401:Aquaporin 4 / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009188:Myelitis, Transverse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C496030:AQP4 protein, human; D051401:Aquaporin 4; D001323:Autoantibodies
keywords: Transverse myelitis; magnetic resonance imaging; neuromyelitis optica; neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders; spinal cord