What is myelomalance?

Myelomalacia is a health condition in which the spinal cord is soft. This is due to insufficient blood supply to the spinal cord, either due to bleeding or due to poor circulation. Myelomalacia is most common due to injury. Older people are most at risk of condition due to reduced bone density, leading to a higher risk of spinal cord damage. Athletes are also exposed to an increased risk of spinal cord damage. The beginning of the condition is often slow and gentle, which makes it difficult for doctors to catch in an early stage. For example, myelomalance can simply act as high blood pressure and may not be diagnosed only after it has become broken.

While symptoms differ, may include the loss of motor function on the lower limbs, sudden refreshment of the limbs, the inability of meaningful pain, depression, difficult breathing and paralysis. Damage can migrate towards the brain in a state known as ascending syndrome. Myelomalance may be fatal if it causes the paralysis of the respiratory system.

Myelomalacia is diagnosed with one of two imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and myelography. Myelography uses a contrast medium injected in the spine to detect injury in X -rays. It is more invasive than MRI, but it can also detect injuries in some cases where MRI cannot. Myelography is therefore usually used as a monitoring of MRI when it fails to identify the source of pain or injury.

Unfortunately, neurological damage due to myelomalacia is permanent. It may also deteriorate because nerve damage can cause the affected muscles where. Treatment is aimed at preventing further damage. Possible treatment includes spinal cord surgery and steroid medication, which is used to relax spastic muscles, reduce pain and reduce the swelling of the spinal cord.

stem cell therapy can be used to repair neurological damage caused by myelomalacia inThe future, but therapy is currently experimental and controversial. Those who oppose stem cell research do so mainly for ethical reasons, because stem cells can be cloned or obtained from human fruits. Recent technology suggests that adult stem cells that can be harvested from the patient's own body show a promise in the treatment of neurological damage by allowing new, healthy tissue to grow.