Centro de Imágenes Biomédicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Rielo Institute for Integral Development, New York, USA.
BMC Neurol. 2022 Oct 24;22(1):393. doi: 10.1186/s12883-022-02881-1.
Transverse myelitis (TM) is characterized by acute development of motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions due to horizontally diffused inflammation in one or more segments of the spinal cord in the absence of a compressive lesion. The not well-known inflammation process induces demyelination resulting in neurological dysfunction.
In this case report we used a functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) technique to evaluate changes in the peri-spinal vascular response induced by a peripheral median nerve electrical stimulation in a patient with chronic transverse myelitis (TM). fNIRS showed drastically reduced signal amplitude in the peri-spinal vascular response, compared to that obtained from a healthy control group throughout most of the C7-T1 and T10-L2 spinal cord segments.
The potential use of this relatively non-invasive fNIRS technology support the potential clinical application of this method for functional test of the spinal cord through the assessment of the spinal neurovascular response.
横贯性脊髓炎（TM）的特征是由于脊髓一个或多个节段内的炎症呈水平扩散，导致运动、感觉和自主神经功能障碍急性发作，而无压迫性病变。这种不为人知的炎症过程会导致脱髓鞘，从而导致神经功能障碍。
在本病例报告中，我们使用功能性近红外光谱（fNIRS）技术来评估慢性横贯性脊髓炎（TM）患者外周正中神经电刺激引起的脊柱旁血管反应的变化。fNIRS 显示，与健康对照组相比，在大多数 C7-T1 和 T10-L2 脊髓节段，脊柱旁血管反应的信号幅度明显降低。
这种相对非侵入性的 fNIRS 技术的潜在用途支持该方法通过评估脊髓神经血管反应，对脊髓功能进行测试的潜在临床应用。
