[Abdominal pain in progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity].

INTRODUCTION

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.

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

CONCLUSION

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.