Multiple sclerosis with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: a case report.

A 48-year-old Caucasian woman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988. She had an episode of left optic neuritis in 1984 which was treated with a course of oral prednisolone and resolved over a period of 3 months. In 1988, she developed right-sided paraesthesia and weakness. This was followed several months later by deterioration in her mobility with an ataxic gait and impaired coordination in the right upper limb. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was supported by the presence of oligoclonal immunoglobulin G bands in the cerebrospinal fluid but not the serum and by prolonged latencies of the visual evoked responses. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of her brain showed multiple cerebral white matter lesions including periventricular lesions, typical of multiple sclerosis. The patient met the criteria of McDonald et al. [3] for a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.