Acute infectious disorders of the spinal cord and its roots with gadolinium-DTPA enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging

We studied three patients with myelomeningoradiculitis caused byBorrelia burgdorferi, herpes zoster virus or cytomegalovirus infection. All patients underwent MRI of the spinal cord with gadolinium-DTPA and showed enhancing lesions of the spinal cord or nerve roots that correlated with clinical signs. Gadolinium-DTPA enhancement may visualize lesions that suggest an inflammation associated with blood-brain-barrier alteration and indicate the diagnosis before serological results are available.