A Case of Paraneoplastic Stiff-Person Syndrome Presenting Multiple Somatic Symptoms.
- Author:
Woo Jae MYUNG
1
;
Eun Ho KANG
;
Bum Hee YU
Author Information
1. Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bhyu@skku.edu
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Stiff-person syndrome;
Thymoma;
Conversion disorder;
Somatoform disorder
- MeSH:
Adult;
Antibodies;
Conversion Disorder;
Diplopia;
Dysarthria;
Female;
Hospitals, General;
Humans;
Leg;
Neck;
Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial;
Pruritus;
Somatoform Disorders;
Stiff-Person Syndrome;
Thorax;
Thymoma;
Thymus Neoplasms
- From:Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
2009;48(5):394-397
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is an unusual autoimmune neurological disease. We report a woman who developed stiff-person syndrome associated with thymoma. A 42-year-old woman visited a general hospital complaining of progressive rigidity in her neck and both lower legs. She also had other symptoms including whole body pruritus, dysphargia, dysarthria, diplopia, and a visual hallucination-like symptom. Emotional distress preceded her symptoms. After a extensive neurologic workup, she was transferred from the neurologic ward to the psychiatric ward under the impression of conversion or somatoform disorder. During her psychiatric admission, we found a prolonged involuntary MUAP discharge on her electromyograph, and positive anti-GAD and anti-GQ1b antibodies. In addition, a chest CT scan revealed a thymic epithelial tumor. We report a case of stiff-person syndrome presenting multiple unexplained somatic symptoms, which was initially diagnosed as a conversion or somatoform disorder.
