[Charcot's disease of the lumbosacral joint in spinal cord injury: a case report].

Objective: Comment on spinal damage in Charcot's disease.

Observation: We report on a paraplegic patient with T9 spinal cord injury who developed destructive arthropathy of the lumbosacral joint.

Discussion: Charcot's disease occurs sporadically during the progression of certain chronic neurological diseases. It affects the limbs and the spine, where it causes major disc and vertebral damage. In cases of spinal cord injury, Charcot's disease must be considered when faced with the appearance of spinal deformity or the aggravation of neurological symptoms. Treatment of Charcot's disease requires spinal osteosynthesis for the relief of neurological compression and the re-establishment of spinal stability.