Definition
Paraplegia is a form of paralysis that affects the lower part of the body.
This pathological condition is due to a level nerve injury
- central (dependent on the motor cells of the nervous system located deep in the spinal cord)
- or peripheral (in the emergency area of nerve fibers in the medulla or nerves).
Paraplegia manifests itself in paralysis of both lower limbs, often associated with erectile dysfunction, incontinence or urinary retention.
Central paraplegia
Central paraplegia can develop suddenly (as happens in the case of traumas of the lumbar or dorsal area of the spinal cord, following car accidents, violent falls or sports injuries) or progressively (eg marrow compression syndrome).
This form of paralysis can also be due to tumors, infectious lesions, congenital malformations of the medullary canal (spina bifida) and neurological pathologies, such as multiple sclerosis and syringomyelia.
Peripheral paraplegia
Peripheral paraplegia may depend on acute (poliomyelitis) or chronic (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease) injuries involving the anterior horn of the spinal cord.
Furthermore, this condition can be the consequence of a condition of the nerve roots (eg Guillain-Barré syndrome).
Possible Causes * of Paraplegia
- Achondroplasia
- lymphoma
- Myelitis
- Multiple myeloma
- myelopathy
- Paget's disease
- Infant Cerebral Palsy
- Spastic paraparesis
- Polio
- radiculopathy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Cauda Equina syndrome
- Syringomyelia
- Spina bifida
- Spinal cord tumors
