Acute flaccid myelitis

Acute flaccid myelitis
acute flaccid paralysis with anterior myelitis, polio-like syndrome
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Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a neurologic illness of sudden onset in children. It presents with localised limb weakness of unknown cause. Enterovirus 68, which as a member of the enterovirus family, is related to polio, and is a leading candidate for the cause of the condition. Due to the recent emergence of the condition, the existing literature about it is tentative and should not be taken as established medical opinion. There is no established treatment for the condition or the virus that may cause it.

A summary of the condition was issued by the United States Centers for Disease Control as part of a September 26, 2014 health advisory:

The CDPHE, Children's Hospital Colorado, and CDC are investigating nine cases of acute neurologic illness among pediatric patients. The cases were identified during August 9–September 17, 2014 among children aged 1–18 years (median age 10 years). Most of the children were from the Denver metropolitan area. All were hospitalized. Common features included acute focal limb weakness and specific findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spinal cord consisting of non-enhancing lesions largely restricted to the gray matter. In most cases, these lesions spanned more than one level of the spinal cord. Some also had acute cranial nerve dysfunction with correlating non-enhancing brainstem lesions on MRI. None of the children experienced altered mental status or seizures. None had any cortical, subcortical, basal ganglia, or thalamic lesions on MRI. Most children reported a febrile respiratory illness in the two weeks preceding development of neurologic symptoms In most cases, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyses demonstrated mild-moderate pleocytosis (increased cell count in the CSF) consistent with an inflammatory or infectious process

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