Arachnoiditis

Arachnoiditis is an inflammatory response of the arachnoid, one of three coverings, or meninges, that envelop the brain and spinal cord. It may result from infection, including syphilis and tubercular meningitis, or trauma (including that resulting from surgery, lumbar puncture, and spinal anesthesia).

A diagnostic procedure, called a myelogram, which is performed in patients prior to spinal surgery may cause numbness, tingling, and a characteristic stinging and burning pain.

Is there any treatment?

The goal of treatment should be to return the patient to a functional role in society. Conservative therapy such as pain management is generally recommended. In those patients whose arachnoiditis is progressive, surgery to remove adhesions is only minimally effective because scar tissue continues to develop. Also, surgery exposes the already irritated spinal cord to additional trauma.

What is the prognosis?

There is no cure for arachnoiditis. For the majority of patients, arachnoiditis is a disabling disease causing intractable pain and neurological deficits. As the disease progresses, some symptoms may increase and become permanent. Few people with this disorder are able to continue working. In some cases, progressive paraplegia may occur.

Information provided by the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
National Institutes of Health

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.