Soft-tissue calcinosis is a common manifestation in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), most typically seen as subcutaneous and intracutaneous calcium deposition in the extremities. By contrast, spinal calcinosis has been the subject of only limited reports1–8. We describe a woman with the diffuse cutaneous form of SSc who presented with serious neurological symptoms, including a rapidly progressive course of motor and sensory disturbance. Computed tomography (CT) of her thoracic spine showed massive intraspinal calcinosis and paraspinal calcinosis causing spinal cord compression.
A 53-year-old woman, diagnosed 10 years previously as having the diffuse cutaneous form of SSc, was admitted to our hospital with a 2-week history of rapidly increasing weakness and numbness of her bilateral lower extremities. She had daily episodes of Raynaud’s phenomenon, esophageal hypomotility, and interstitial lung disease. On admission, physical examination revealed skin thickening over the trunk, face and limbs, multiple ulcerations of her fingertips, peripheral calcinosis cutis, and telangiectasia. Neurologic examination revealed severe weakness in her bilateral lower extremities …