What is the differential diagnosis?
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Acute phase: transverse myelitis (including neuromyelitis optica), anterior spinal artery cord ischaemia.
Chronic phase: HIV vacuolar myelopathy: typically posterior and lateral columns, relapsing-remitting myelopathy (associated with anticardiolipin antibodies), hereditary spastic paraplegia
multiple sclerosis (usually shorter segments), primary lateral sclerosis, Lyme disease, subacute combined degeneration of the cord (usually confined to the dorsal columns), syphilis.