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Showing posts from July, 2011

Stiff man syndrome: A neuromotor disorder- Know how for physios

Synonyms: stiff man syndrome (SMS), stiff person syndrome (SPS), stiff leg syndrome (a focal SMS) etc Introduction & definition: Moerch and Woltman reported the first 14 cases with this syndrome for more than 50 years since 2010. Stiff man syndrome (SMS) is an uncommon (rare) neurological disease that manifests with disorder of motor function which is characterized by rigidity of axial musculature and fluctuating painful spasms, which are often induced by startle or emotional stimuli. Clinical and immunological findings indicate that SMS is a heterogeneous disease, suggesting the need to define its diagnostic criteria. But it has basic 2 forms either it can be generalized or focal. Criteria for the diagnosis of SPS were proposed but there are several variants of this syndrome described. These variants include focal variants of SMS. Variants include stiff limb syndrome (SLS), jerking SMS and progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM). Recognition of the clini