Acute Spinal Cord Infarction: Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging - Case Report -

Study Design: A case report. Objective: We present a rare case of acute spinal cord infarction and usefulness of diffusion weighted MR imaging. Summary of Literature Review: T1-weighted and T2-weighted images are often normal in a patient with acute spinal cord infarction. Material and Methods: An 82-year-old presented with acute onset of paraplegia and urinary retention. His symptoms developed 6 days ago without any trauma. He had a history of vertebroplasty due to compression fracture of 12th thoracic vertebral body 6 years ago. There was no evidence of spinal cord compression on routine T1-and T2-weighted MRI. Results: In diffusion-weighted MRI, a high intensity signal intensity lesion in the spinal cord and conus medullaris was observed. Conclusion: We report an example for the usefulness of diffusion-weighted image for early and accurate diagnosis of acute spinal cord infarction.