Somato-somatic referred pain caused by suprasegmental spinal cord tumor.
Tactile stimulation of a coin-sized area in a T-2 dermatome consistently triggered a lancinating pain in the ipsilateral C-8 dermatome in a 38-year-old woman. The SEP and an MRI led to a diagnosis of a tumor at the left cervico-medullary junction, much higher than the clinically suspected level. Surgical exploration revealed an exophytic glioma, and the pain was abolished postoperatively. Ephaptic transmission at the tumor site was suspected as a pathophysiologic mechanism.
Lee
S I
SI
Department of Neurology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
Phillips
L H
LH
Jane
J A
JA
D000328:Adult; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D005910:Glioma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology