Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War

ABSTRACT The Paraguayan War ended 150 years ago. Back then, there were outbreaks of combatants’ limb weakness and tingling related to "palustrian cachexia", not clearly funded at the time on nutritional deficiency, the use of native flora to feed troops, and alcoholism. We report a case of...

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Main Authors: Marleide da Mota GOMES, Marcos Raimundo Gomes de FREITAS
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Revinter Publicações 2021-06-01
Series:Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2021000600554&tlng=en
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author Marleide da Mota GOMES
Marcos Raimundo Gomes de FREITAS
author_facet Marleide da Mota GOMES
Marcos Raimundo Gomes de FREITAS
author_sort Marleide da Mota GOMES
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT The Paraguayan War ended 150 years ago. Back then, there were outbreaks of combatants’ limb weakness and tingling related to "palustrian cachexia", not clearly funded at the time on nutritional deficiency, the use of native flora to feed troops, and alcoholism. We report a case of a soldier with ascending paralysis, mental confusion and finally tetraplegia with preserved oculomotricity. This would probably be a case of locked-in syndrome (LIS) due to Gayet-Wernicke's encephalopathy consequent to thiamine deficiency. The role of thiamine in the peripheral or central nervous system expression was shown decades later to be related to poor diet, or use of foods containing thiaminase or thiamine antagonists, worsened by the fact that the bodily stores of thiamine are restricted, and deficits may grow fast.
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issn 1678-4227
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publisher Thieme Revinter Publicações
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series Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
spelling doaj-art-7d74ef04275d4163936604c691b5c0f02025-08-20T03:35:18ZengThieme Revinter PublicaçõesArquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria1678-42272021-06-0179655455610.1590/0004-282x-anp-2020-0479Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan WarMarleide da Mota GOMEShttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8889-2573Marcos Raimundo Gomes de FREITAShttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7747-0287ABSTRACT The Paraguayan War ended 150 years ago. Back then, there were outbreaks of combatants’ limb weakness and tingling related to "palustrian cachexia", not clearly funded at the time on nutritional deficiency, the use of native flora to feed troops, and alcoholism. We report a case of a soldier with ascending paralysis, mental confusion and finally tetraplegia with preserved oculomotricity. This would probably be a case of locked-in syndrome (LIS) due to Gayet-Wernicke's encephalopathy consequent to thiamine deficiency. The role of thiamine in the peripheral or central nervous system expression was shown decades later to be related to poor diet, or use of foods containing thiaminase or thiamine antagonists, worsened by the fact that the bodily stores of thiamine are restricted, and deficits may grow fast.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2021000600554&tlng=enBeriberiPolyneuropathyBrain DiseasesMyelinolysis, Central PontineThiamine DeficiencyLocked-in Syndrome
spellingShingle Marleide da Mota GOMES
Marcos Raimundo Gomes de FREITAS
Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
Beriberi
Polyneuropathy
Brain Diseases
Myelinolysis, Central Pontine
Thiamine Deficiency
Locked-in Syndrome
title Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
title_full Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
title_fullStr Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
title_full_unstemmed Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
title_short Probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the Paraguayan War
title_sort probable first report of a motor deafferentation syndrome in the paraguayan war
topic Beriberi
Polyneuropathy
Brain Diseases
Myelinolysis, Central Pontine
Thiamine Deficiency
Locked-in Syndrome
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2021000600554&tlng=en
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