SPINAL LESION

[JZM1FC]

COULD ANYONE HELP ME DIAGNOSE WHERE ABOUTS THIS LESION MAY HAVE OCCURRED.... THESE ARE THE SYMPTOMS.

A 45-year old publican noted a difference in the appreciation of cutaneous perceptionof temperature over his left trunk and leg. At the same time his right leg had become weaker than the left. This did not improve and within a matter of months the following neurological signs were apparent.
Higher function normal: abnormal gait with a limp from right leg, spine normal in appearance, normal cranial nerves.
Wasting of the small muscles of the right hand: tone in arms normal: normal reflexes in arms. No wasting in legs, spasticity in right leg: weakness of right leg: knee jerks brisk more so on right than left. There was also some loss of sense of posture (passive
joint position sense) in the same leg. On the left side of the body there was impairment of movement. However, there was a loss of sensation over the left side of the body on testing for pain, heat and cold. The sensory level was at the level of the third rib. No loss of proprioception was present on the left side of the body.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

The syndrome most consistent with what you are describing has been called a Brown-Sequard syndrome. I would need to examine the patient to confirm this, but this is most likely due to a compressive lesion on the right side of the spinal cord at the C8/T1 levels. An MRI of the spine would help determine what could be causing the compression. Good luck.

[JZM1FC]

JUST WANTED TO SYA A BIG THANKYOU TO WHOEVER REPLIED TO MY QUESTION ...... CHEERS :O)

[The Crusader]

DANGERS / DEPO-MEDROL EPIDURAL INJECTIONS

Have you ever had epidural steroid nerve block injections?  There are new studies that link severe chronic pain syndromes with complications of this non FDA approved procedure. (Arachnoiditis)  Using the Freedom of Information act, we have discovered that there have been well over 15,000 adverse event reports and 356 deaths attributed to Depo-Medrol between 1998 and 2002.  (A very high number despite that fact that only 1.5% of all adverse events get reported to the FDA!)

Pfizer Inc. recently purchased Pharmacia/Upjohn, the manufacturer of the most commonly used injectable steroid, Depo-Medrol!  They have recently issued a new WARNING on the use of this non-FDA approved drug for epidural administration.  They say that Depo-Medrol is "NO LONGER RECOMMENDED" for epidural administration in a newly published Pfizer document titled: "Depo-Medrol / Reformulation-Epidural Use"  The warning covers BOTH formulations!  (Another misconception is that Pfizer makes a preservative-free formulation of the drug, which supposedly is safer in the opinion of the doctors who use it!  These doctors are not only wrong about this, it's downright incompetent!

Both formulations, the single dose and the multi-dose formulation, have preservatives added, MGPC and Benzyl Alcohol respectively... both are neurotoxic and potentially damaging to nerves.  Besides, both formulations contain huge amounts of Polyethylene Glycol, a chemical cousin of automobile antifreeze and a major ingredient in DOT-3 Brake Fluid!  If this isn't bad enough, they then mix Depo-Medrol with other chemicals, such as anesthetics, like Marcaine, and ionic dyes, such as Isovue, AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATION OF PFIZER AGAIN!  PFIZER CLAIMS THAT THIS PRACTICE CAN INCREASE THE TOXIC RISKS BECAUSE OF CHEMICAL INCOMPATIBILITIES, THEREFORE THEY HAVE WARNED DOCTORS NOT TO DO IT!

Any doctor that may be reading this should call Pfizer immediately and ask for a written copy of their newly posted Warning.

All patients should be advised that they will not be told this information unless they specifically ask their doctors for it.  Even then, there is no guarantee that their doctor will even know this latest update.

Kindest regards,
Dennis J. Capolongo / EDNC
Center for Pharmaceutical Safety
Washington, DC