São Paulo Medical Journal ()

Lhermitte's sign and vitamin B12 deficiency: case report

  • Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive,
  • Salo Haratz,
  • Jorge Zavala,
  • Renato Puppi Munhoz,
  • Rosana Hermínia Scola,
  • Lineu César Werneck

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-31802009000300011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 127, no. 3
pp. 171 – 173

Abstract

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CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Lhermitte's sign, a classical neurological sign, is a rare manifestation of vitamin B12 deficiency. The aim here was to report on a case of an elderly patient with vitamin B12 deficiency whose first clinical manifestation was the presence of Lhermitte's sign. CASE REPORT: We describe an elderly patient with vitamin B12 deficiency who presented cognitive dysfunction, peripheral polyneuropathy and sensory ataxia, and whose first clinical manifestation was the presence of Lhermitte's sign. This sign is one of the rarest manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency.

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