A 43-year-old woman experienced an uncomfortable sensation similar to a tight corset around the trunk. Screening of her thoracoabdominal organs at a hospital revealed no abnormality. One month after the onset, she visited us with numbness in the extremities and gait disturbance. An examination revealed proximal-dominant muscle weakness, paresthesia, and areflexia of all four extremities. Furthermore, enlargement and enhancement of the cervicothoracolumbar spinal nerves were noted on gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (arrowheads, Picture a), and a mediastinal lymph node biopsy confirmed sarcoid polyradiculopathy. She recovered completely following corticosteroid administration. MRI performed six months after treatment initiation showed improvement in the abnormal findings (Picture b). The unique “girdle sensation”, often described as a tightening sensation in the trunk, is rare but has been reported in multiple sclerosis, diabetic thoracic radiculopathy, and sarcoid polyradiculopathy (1,2). This case highlights the emerging usefulness of coronal gadolinium-enhanced MRI for evaluating sarcoid polyradiculopathy.
Picture.
The authors state that they have no Conflict of Interest (COI).
References
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