AI Article Synopsis

  • * Pseudotabes mimics this condition and can also result from vitamin B12 deficiency or other nerve-related disorders, not just neurosyphilis.
  • * A lesser-known cause of pseudotabes is copper deficiency, which affects the nervous system due to the essential role of copper in cellular functioning.

Article Abstract

A posterior cord or dorsal column myelopathy due to neurosyphilis presenting as a tabetic gait is a classic neurological vignette and is taught to all medical students. Its clinical presentation is so graphic that its simulacrum with diseases other than neurosyphilis is labeled as pseudotabes. The latter can be seen with vitamin B12 deficiency as a subacute combined degeneration (SCD) of the spinal cord, another neurology classic. However, not all cases of pseudotabes are due to posterior cord myelopathy as some can arise with other deafferentation syndromes such as polyganglioneuropathies as seen with paraneoplastic syndromes, Sjogren's syndrome, idiopathic autoimmune diseases, and post-viral neuronopathies. A unique and interesting cause of pseudotabes is due to copper deficiency; copper being a metallic trace element that is fundamental to cellular life. Herein, we present a case of copper deficiency manifesting as pseudotabes and review the biochemical properties of copper and its effects on the nervous system.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8346274PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.16254DOI Listing

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