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Unique form of propriospinal myoclonus as a possible complication of an enteropathogenic toxin
Author(s) -
Espay Alberto J.,
Ashby Peter,
Hanajima Ritsuko,
Jog Mandar S.,
Lang Anthony E.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.10453
Subject(s) - myoclonus , etiology , medicine , neuroscience , movement disorders , disease , pathology , biology
Propriospinal myoclonus is an uncommon form of spinal myoclonus propagated, presumably, by slowly conducting polysynaptic intraspinal pathways. Although most patients demonstrate no clear etiology, a variety of disorders have been linked to this abnormal movement, including trauma, multiple sclerosis, tumors, and infectious disorders such as herpes zoster, human immunodeficiency virus, and Lyme disease. We describe 2 young male patients from the same town in Northern Ontario, Canada, exposed to an outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from contaminated municipal water, who developed identical clinical and electrophysiological features suggestive of a rhythmic form of propriospinal myoclonus with activity alternating between abdominal and paraspinal muscles. A toxin‐mediated microvascular thrombosis is proposed as a possible pathogenic mechanism underlying this novel association. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society