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What is the history of Stiff Person Syndrome?
When was Stiff Person Syndrome discovered? What is the story of this discovery? Was it coincidence or not?
Thetinman.org is an excellent resource for all things related to SPS. The following is taken from the site.
At Mayo Clinic, physicians Dr. Frederick Moersch (1889-1975) and Dr. Henry Woltman (1889-1964) collected case studies of patients who presented with progressive, symmetrical rigidity of axial and proximal limb muscles.
In 1956, they presented a paper covering fourteen patients collected over thirty-two years. Ten patients were men and four were women. The average age of onset was forty-one years. All were progressive and responded poorly to treatments. Four had diabetes mellitus. Two had epilepsy: one with grand-mal seizures and one with petit-mal seizures. They concluded, because of the fluctuating nature of the symptoms and the association with diabetes, that a metabolic basis for the disease should be considered.
The disease was initially named Moersch-Woltman syndrome in their honor.
At Mayo Clinic, physicians Dr. Frederick Moersch (1889-1975) and Dr. Henry Woltman (1889-1964) collected case studies of patients who presented with progressive, symmetrical rigidity of axial and proximal limb muscles.
In 1956, they presented a paper covering fourteen patients collected over thirty-two years. Ten patients were men and four were women. The average age of onset was forty-one years. All were progressive and responded poorly to treatments. Four had diabetes mellitus. Two had epilepsy: one with grand-mal seizures and one with petit-mal seizures. They concluded, because of the fluctuating nature of the symptoms and the association with diabetes, that a metabolic basis for the disease should be considered.
The disease was initially named Moersch-Woltman syndrome in their honor.
Posted Dec 25, 2021 by Pathdoc 2500
Translated from spanish
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There is a brutal form of presentation that forces you to make differential diagnosis with Tetanus.
There is an infantile form that affects a lower limb (stiff leg)
And the most common, which is that of a patient who begins to notice loss of elasticity in the sport or work activity. Pain and/or stiffness as he tries to overcome a effort. Spasms provoked by the slightest contact, sound and emotional experiences, The patient is blocked in the presence of a well-known friend or close friend, Trouble down the curb of a street and cross it. The patient tends to cross between the cars instead of the step enabled with traffic lights, to avoid being obsrvado by the drivers. The falls are mainly due to the inability to stay on a foot, The falls are accompanied by a noise glottic and in hyperextension. Are frequent falls with stitches in the chin.
There is an infantile form that affects a lower limb (stiff leg)
And the most common, which is that of a patient who begins to notice loss of elasticity in the sport or work activity. Pain and/or stiffness as he tries to overcome a effort. Spasms provoked by the slightest contact, sound and emotional experiences, The patient is blocked in the presence of a well-known friend or close friend, Trouble down the curb of a street and cross it. The patient tends to cross between the cars instead of the step enabled with traffic lights, to avoid being obsrvado by the drivers. The falls are mainly due to the inability to stay on a foot, The falls are accompanied by a noise glottic and in hyperextension. Are frequent falls with stitches in the chin.
Posted Sep 18, 2017 by Fernando Vela Vallejo 3250
