How do illnesses, such as colds, fever and flu impact TM?
There are two ways to interpret this question. The first possible relationship is that viral illnesses are well known precipitants of post-infectious TM. Somehow the viral infection sets off an autoimmune response directed at the spinal cord with resultant inflammation and injury within spinal cord tissue. Recurrent transverse myelitis has been reported; therefore, there is a very small theoretical risk that viral infection might set off a recurrence of post-infectious TM. However, this is very small and it is more likely that worsening of symptoms with a cold or fever would occur by the mechanism described in the next paragraph. The other way to interpret this question is how do colds, fever and flu impact upon the patient with a past episode of TM who is now stable with residual neurologic problems from spinal cord injury. We know from studies of people with multiple sclerosis that fever may have profound effects on neurologic function in areas of the brain and spinal cord with demye
