A Case of Progressive Myelitis Caused by Varicella Zoster Virus Infection
In Kyung Lee, MD, Seung-Hwan Lee, MD, Sung Hun Kim, MD
Department of Neurology, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea
Myelitis caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection is a very rare neurological complication
although its mechanism has been poorly understood. We present a 75-year-old man who presented
vesicular skin eruption of herpes zoster followed by recurrent myelitis in spite of continuous treatment
with anti-viral medication. Serial analysis of cerebrospinal fluid demonstrated sustained high
level IgG antibody for VZV. We suspected that immune-mediated mechanism could be the cause of
progressive myelitis in our patient.
Journal of Multiple Sclerosis 3(2):55-58, 2012
