A case of myelitis with eosinophilia of the cerebrospinal fluid

Abstract

A 25-year-old woman developed numbness of the right flank two weeks after a one-month stay in Thailand and Laos, which are known as areas of angiostrongylosis cantonensis infections. The signs were numbness, pain sense disorder, and vibration sense disorder on the region of the 6th to 12th dermatome. On a MRI T2 weighted image (T2WI), signal hyperintensity in a longitudinal spinal lesion was seen. In the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), eosinophils were detected. The patient was diagnosed with eosinophilic meningitis and myelitis, and then treated with intravenous methylprednisolone. This improved her signs, CSF and MRI findings. She took no drugs, did not have any allergies, any vasculitis, or neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. Although anti-parasite antibodies were not identified, she was probably infected by angiostrongylus cantonensis from her history and examinations.