ARACHNOIDITIS
WHAT IS ARACHNOIDITIS? WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
WHAT CAUSES IT?

Arachnoiditis is a progressive neurological inflammatory disease that may affect several different systems in the body. The immune system weakens as the disease progresses and it is thought that in some people the disorder begins because the immune system was weak to begin with. Arachnoiditis is very similar to multiple sclerosis (MS). This is probably due to the fact that as fibrous tissues surround the spinal cord, the white matter undergo extensive demyelination (8) and demyelination is the reason for the development of MS.

The symptoms of both MS and arachnoiditis are nearly identical. In fact, MS is often suspected by doctors—especially general practitioners, rheumatologists and doctors of internal medicine—when they first see a patient with arachnoiditis. The symptoms of the disorder are also similar to Lupus. Doctors should not be faulted for errors in diagnosis because not enough information about arachnoiditis is available to nonsurgical practitioners. Articles about arachnoiditis are rarely published in the professional journals these doctors access.

Arachnoiditis has been called various names, including chemical arachnoiditis, sclerosing spinal pachy-meningitis, meningeal inflammation, granulomatous meningitis, aseptic meningitis, lumbar radiculopathy, and adhesive arachnoiditis. Many people are told that they have failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) because they have had multiple surgeries in an attempt to alleviate the pain. (But please keep in mind that a diagnosis of FBSS does not necessary mean that someone has arachnoiditis.) According to the ICD-9-CM Codes, 9 the diagnostic code of arachnoiditis is 322.9. The code for lumbar radiculopathy is 724.4.

A report by Dr. Don M. Long, (10) a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, lists the features suggestive of arachnoiditis as: partial or complete block, narrowing of the subarachnoid space, obliteration of nerve root sleeves, an apparent thickening of the nerve roots, irregular distribution of contrast medium, loculation of retained Pantopaque (Myodil) or newly injected material, formation of cysts, and mobility of oil-based contrast agents. Spinal cord atrophy may occur with lumbar arachnoiditis.

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