ABSTRACT
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system causing disabling neurologic deficits. Urologic symptoms occur in over 50% of patients with MS and most commonly involve frequency and urgency. Transverse myelitis is a clinical syndrome following an immune-mediated process causing neural injury to the spinal cord, and manifests varying degrees of weakness, sensory alterations, and autonomic dysfunction. Tropical spastic paraparesis is associated with and probably caused by the retrovirus human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an infectious demyelinating brain disease caused by JC virus, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the immunosuppressed (IS) host. PML has been associated with select IS patients with MS, particularly those treated with natalizumab. Lyme disease (LD) is a multisystemic, tick-borne illness caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete. The erythema migrans rash, occuring in 90% of reported cases, is a specific feature of LD, and treatment should begin immediately.
