PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Romina Mariano
AU  - Eoin P Flanagan
AU  - Brain G Weinshenker
AU  - Jacqueline Palace
TI  - A practical approach to the diagnosis of spinal cord lesions
AID  - 10.1136/practneurol-2017-001845
DP  - 2018 Jun 01
TA  - Practical Neurology
PG  - 187--200
VI  - 18
IP  - 3
4099  - http://pn.bmj.com/content/18/3/187.short
4100  - http://pn.bmj.com/content/18/3/187.full
SO  - Pract Neurol2018 Jun 01; 18
AB  - Every neurologist will be familiar with the patient with atypical spinal cord disease and the challenges of taking the diagnosis forward. This is predominantly because of the limited range of possible clinical and investigation findings making most individual features non-specific. The difficulty in obtaining a tissue diagnosis further contributes and patients are often treated empirically based on local prevalence and potential for reversibility. This article focuses on improving the diagnosis of adult non-traumatic, non-compressive spinal cord disorders. It is structured to start with the clinical presentation in order to be of practical use to the clinician. We aim, by combining the onset phenotype with the subsequent course, along with imaging and laboratory features, to improve the diagnostic process.