Marburg variant of multiple sclerosis masquerading as glioma: a case report

Abstract

Marburg variant of multiple sclerosis is a rare demyelinating disease with a rapid and often fulminant course. It may disguise as a cerebral ring-enhancing lesion, hence presenting a diagnostic dilemma. Treatment may be challenging due to its rarity, aggressive course and dearth of diagnostic facilities in our environment. To the authors´ best knowledge, this is the first reported case of the Marburg variant of multiple sclerosis in sub-Saharan Africa. We present a 35-year-old woman with clinical and radiological features of intracranial space-occupying lesion who had two recurrences over four months despite total gross excisions. The fulminant, recurrent nature of this disease, coupled with positive oligoclonal bands, led to the Marburg variant of multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Physicians saddled with managing neurological diseases should consider this a differential diagnosis, especially when the clinical course and laboratory findings have ruled out more common neoplastic and infective causes.