Electrophysiologic features in patients with chronic neurolathyrism.

Neurolathyrism is a toxic nutritional disorder induced by the ingestion of the chick-pea "lathyrus sativus" and characterized by a pure motor spastic paraparesis. Eight patients with long-standing disease underwent nerve conduction and electromyographic studies. Two of them (25%) showed electrophysiological signs of lower motor neuron disease in their lower limbs. Subclinical affection of the anterior horn cells occurs probably more frequently than expected in chronic neurolathyrism.