This is, in the broad use of the phrase, TM, nonsense. (Not that you
were not told that, but rather the ***narrowness of the causality
attribution***.)
Transverse Myelitis, strictly speaking, is an inflammation of the spinal
cord with an impact across the cord. The inflammation (i.e. the
"myelitis") may or may not be from an autoimmune cause, although there
does seem to be some evidence that an autoimmune cause is a
***frequent*** factor. I have not done much reading along that thread
because autoimmunity is almost certainly NOT a factor in my own personal
malady.
My situation now seems certain to have been the result of a stroke of an
artery branch feeding one small portion (both vertical and in cross
section) of my spinal cord. That is not in itself an inflammation,
although it may have ***resulted*** in an inflammation. The real damage
was the death of certain nerve fibers. The necrotic tissue might have
resulted in an inflammation, so it might fit within the strict
definition of TM. Nonetheless, the devastation and the recovery are
typical of the strict definition, so a spinal stroke is commonly
included in the broad use of the term, TM. (e.g. see Dr. Lynn's paper on
our web site, esp. the paragraph starting with the word, “Vascular”.)
Forgive me for the strength of this reply, but the more we repeat
unsubstantiated conjectures, the more likely a newbie is to assume it is
correct. In this case, the statement quoted above implies that ALL
instances of TM are caused by an autoimmune virus [sic; the word
disorder, not virus, was probably intended].
Alton,
who doesn't yet know how to underline text with this software so he uses
uppercase and/or ***'s to highlight a phrase