[Abdominal pain in progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity].
BACKGROUND
Stiff-person syndrome is rare neurological disease, associating trunk rigidity and painful muscular spasms. A clinical variant of stiff person syndrome is the progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM), which includes neurological cognitive disturbances.


METHODS
We report a 73-year-old woman initially addressed for abdominal pain, anorexia and severe weight-loss, for whom diagnosis of PERM was made.


CONCLUSIONS
Because of its various clinical presentations, sometimes without evidence for neurological disease, the diagnosis of PERM is delayed. The presence of antineuropile antibodies associated with muscular spasms at electromyogram are strong evidence for this diagnosis.
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Seguier
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Serratrice
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Lachaud
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France. Electronic address: pauline.belenotti@ap-hm.fr.
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Belenotti
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Benyamine
Service de neurologie, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Verschueren
Laboratoire d'immunologie, hôpital de la Conception, 147, boulevard Baille, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Boucraut
Service de neurologie, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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Attarian
Service de médecine interne, hôpital de la Timone, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France.
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PJ
Weiller
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000368:Aged; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009127:Muscle Rigidity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*
Abdominal pain; Auto immunité; Autoimmunity; Douleur abdominale; Encephalomyelitis; Encéphalomyélite; Rigidity; Rigidité