Lhermitte's Sign Following Head and Neck Radiotherapy

Lewanski, C.R.; Sinclair, J A; Stewart, J.S.W.

doi:10.1053/clon.2000.9125

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…LS has been particularly observed in disorders resulting in a degree of damage in the region of the cervical spine. Developments following radiotherapy (Esik, et al, 2003;Fein, et al, 1993;Leung, et al, 2005;Lewanski, et al, 2000;Thornton, et al, 1991) and trauma (Merriam, et al, 1986;Traynelis, et al, 1990) have been particularly observed. However, the range of associated pathologies is broad and includes cavernous angioma of the cervical spinal cord (Murphy and Gutrecht, 1998), pseudotumour cerebri (Comabella, et al, 1995), pilocytic astrocytoma (Bohner, et al, 2005), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis following live rubella vaccination (Tsuru, et al, 2000), Behcets disease (Falga-Tirado, et al, 1995b;Page and Spiteri, 1982), systemic lupus erythematosus (Falga-Tirado, et al, 1995a), herpes zoster (Vollmer, et al, 1991), cobalamin deficiency (Fritschi and Sturzenegger, 2003) and alcoholic myeopathy (Imai, et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lhermitte’s sign, electric shock sensations and high dose ecstasy consumption: preliminary findings

2009

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The objectives of this study were to perform a preliminary investigation into the nature of electric shock-like experiences reported in association with the use of ecstasy tablets thought to contain methylenedioxymethamphetamines (MDMA). This included exploration of reports of electric shock-like experiences from the user's perspectives and identification of other variables that may be associated with their development. Furthermore we aimed to examine whether the well-recognised electric shock-like symptom, Lhermitte's sign (LS), is associated with ecstasy tablet use in some drug users. A single measure, cross-sectional survey was used incorporating mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology. A select group of ecstasy users (n = 35) recruited through a dance, music and lifestyle magazine completed a telephone interview. Lifetime prevalence of LS in the study population was 18% (n = 6). Development of LS was associated with use of more ecstasy tablets before a typical incident. This study indicates a relationship may exist between the use of ecstasy tablets and LS. The relationship may be dose dependent. The majority of the study population used other substances including alcohol when experiencing electrical shock sensations. LS may explain only a proportion of all electrical shock experiences among ecstasy users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lhermitte’s sign, electric shock sensations and high dose ecstasy consumption: preliminary findings

2009

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A review on radiogenic Lhermitte’s sign

Ésik

Csere

Stefanits

et al. 2003

Pathol. Oncol. Res.

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Radiation myelopathy is a rare, but extremely serious side-effect of radiotherapy. Recovery from radiation-induced motor sequelae is rare, whereas, the regeneration of sensory losses is relatively frequent. Among the sensory radiogenic injuries of the spinal cord, Lhermitte's sign (LS) is most frequent. This review describes the clinical picture and diagnostic imaging signs of radiogenic LS. There have been only a few studies on large patient groups with radiogenic LS, demonstrating a rate of occurrence of 3.6-13%, relating mainly to mantle irradiation or the radiotherapy of head and neck tumors. These cases typically manifest themselves 3 months following radiotherapy and gradually disappear within 6 months. Only 3 LS cases have been described in the English literature with extraordinarily severe symptoms lasting for more than 1 year. MRI, a sensitive tool in the detection of demyelination, failed to reveal any pathological sign accompanying radiogenic LS. However, positron emission tomography demonstrated increased [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation and [15O]butanol perfusion, but a negligible [11C]methionine uptake in the irradiated spinal cord segments in patients with long-standing LS. These imaging data are suggestive of a close direct relationship between the regional perfusion and metabolism of the spinal cord, very much like the situation in the brain. We postulate that an altered, energy-demanding conduction along the demyelinated axons of patients with chronic radiogenic LS may explain the increased metabolism and perfusion.

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