Transverse Myelitis?

[Udkas]

Dear Dr,

I am a 44 year old female who has had on going neurological symptoms for over 12 years.  I am otherwise healthy have never suffered from anxiety, depression etc. Normal weight

Symptoms included left leg weakness, my leg felt like it had gone to sleep and felt heavy to walk on. Bladder urgency and incontinence, numbness and pins and needles, sharp bolts of pain, like touching an electric fence, burning. Most of my symptoms are of a sensory nature.

1st episode was sudden in start and landed me in hospital with IV steriods for a week.  MRI and LP and bloodwork all came back normal.

Neurologist at the time thought it was probable MS but MRI didn't confirm so scheduled follow up MRI 6mths and 12mths later and both were normal.

Symptoms went away only to return when I was tired, stressed, hot or sick but never as bad as before.

Now all these years later they have re surfaced, I had now sought a second opinion with a different neurologist who has said in "his opinion" I have had an episode of Transverse Myelitis.  Again MRI imaging and LP was normal on a T3 machine of my cervical, brain and thoracic.  He too repeated MRI 8mths later and has now booked me in again for MRI in 2010.  He has not ruled out recurrent TM or it changing to MS.

I also get migraine aura without the headache, my eyes shimmer and I get vertigo and it always worsens my symptoms, I can't help but wonder if all my symptoms are not due to migraine.  

My neuro seems to think I have a lesion in my mid thoracic, possible brain stem and cervical.  I have hyper reflexia on examination , a clear sensory line below the thoracic, clonus.

How can my MRI continue to be normal? Some of my symptoms seem to be fleeting in nature, especially the burning sensation comes and goes throughout the day.  I get burning and numbness in my perineum can migraine headache cause this?

Sorry this post is so long and I do understand that you can't give too much detail without an examination.
Any ideas?
Thank you

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

Your complex symptoms are completely consistent with a chronic neurotrophic infection.  Often patients with atypical MS or other atypical motorneuron disease have underlying chronic intracellular infections.  Your physician should look for this possibility through clinical testing, but simple antibody testing usually comes up negative or barely positive.  In cases like yours we have found neurotrophic Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, Borrelia, various viruses, etc., and treatment of these infections reduced symptoms considerably and in many cases, if treated properly, resulted in complete recovery.

[Udkas]

Dear Garth,

Thank you for your response. I found an article you have written on the internet on neurotrophic Mycoplasma and the relationship to Neurological disorders.  I must confess some of it went over my head as I don't have a medical or science degree but I did find it thought provoking and interesting reading.

I will try and find out what my neurologist has already tested me for, he has done a zillion blood tests but I was never informed to what they were for, he mentions often the herpes zoster virus, he finds it interesting that I have had chicken pox that incurred brain inflammation as an adult and I also had pneumonia as an adult just before all this began as well.

Thanks again for your response.

Cheers,
Udkas.