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Symptoms are very similar to those found in benign fasciculation syndrome and include:
- Fasciculations (Primary Symptom)
- Muscle cramping (Primary Symptom)
- Muscle pain
- Muscle Stiffness
- Generalized fatigue
- Anxiety
- Exercise intolerance
- Globus sensations
- Paraesthesias.
- Hyperreflexia
Patients with acquired non-inflammatory myopathy typically experience weakness, cramping, stiffness, and tetany, most commonly in skeletal muscle surrounding the limbs and upper shoulder girdle.
The most commonly reported symptoms are:
- Muscle fatigue
- Pain
- Muscle spasms and cramps
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Tetany
- Loss of coordination and balance
- Lack of fine and gross motor control
- Muscular wasting and atrophy
The procedure of diagnosis for Cramp Fasciculation Syndrome (CFS) is closely aligned with the diagnosis procedure for benign fasciculation syndrome (BFS). The differentiation between a diagnosis of BFS versus CFS is usually more severe and prominent pain, cramps and stiffness associated with CFS.
The prolonged muscle contractions, which occur most commonly in the leg muscles in recessive mutations, and more commonly in the hands, face, and eyelids in dominant mutations, are often enhanced by inactivity, and in some forms are relieved by repetitive movement known as "the warm-up effect". This effect often diminishes quickly with rest. Some individuals with myotonia congenita are prone to falling as a result of hasty movements or an inability to stabilize themselves after a loss of balance. During a fall, a person with myotonia congenita may experience partial or complete rigid paralysis that will quickly resolve once the event is over. However, a fall into cold water may render the person unable to move for the duration of submergence. As with myotonic goats, children are more prone to falling than adults, due to their impulsivity.
The two major types of myotonia congenita are distinguished by the severity of their symptoms and their patterns of inheritance. Becker disease usually appears later in childhood than Thomsen disease, and causes more severe myotonia, muscle stiffness and transient weakness. Although myotonia in itself is not normally associated with pain, cramps or myalgia may develop. People with Becker disease often experience temporary attacks of muscle weakness, particularly in the arms and hands, brought on by movement after periods of rest. They may also develop mild, permanent muscle weakness over time. This muscle weakness is not observed in people with Thomsen disease. However, in recent times, as more of the individual mutations that cause myotonia congenita are identified, these limited disease classifications are becoming less widely used.
Early symptoms in a child may include:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Gagging
- Stiff movements that improve when they are repeated
- Frequent falling
- Difficulties opening eyelids after strenuous contraction or crying (von Graefe's sign)
Possible complications may include:
- Aspiration pneumonia (caused by swallowing difficulties)
- Frequent choking or gagging in infants (also caused by swallowing difficulties)
- Abdominal muscle weakness
- Chronic joint problems
- Injury due to falls
NMT is a diverse disorder. As a result of muscular hyperactivity, patients may present with muscle cramps, stiffness, myotonia-like symptoms (slow relaxation), associated walking difficulties, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), myokymia (quivering of a muscle), fasciculations (muscle twitching), fatigue, exercise intolerance, myoclonic jerks and other related symptoms. The symptoms (especially the stiffness and fasciculations) are most prominent in the calves, legs, trunk, and sometimes the face and neck, but can also affect other body parts. NMT symptoms may fluctuate in severity and frequency. Symptoms range from mere inconvenience to debilitating. At least a third of people also experience sensory symptoms.
There are three main types of NMT:
- Chronic
- Monophasic (symptoms that resolve within several years of onset; postinfection, postallergic)
- Relapsing Remitting
Many patients report that temperature may affect the severity of symptoms, especially cold as being an aggravating factor. However, there is some scientific debate on this subject, and some even report that cold may alleviate symptoms.
Acquired noninflammatory myopathy can be caused by a variety of factors including metabolic abnormalities, drugs, nutritional deficiency, trauma, and upstream abnormalities resulting in decreased function. Two of the most common causes of ANIM are hyperthyroidism and excessive steroid use, while many drugs used to treat rheumatism are known to be inducing agents. Most cases of ANIM can be linked to drugs or dietary abnormalities.
Periodic paralysis (also known as myoplegia paroxysmalis familiaris) is a group of rare genetic diseases that lead to weakness or paralysis from common triggers such as cold, heat, high carbohydrate meals, not eating, stress or excitement and physical activity of any kind. The underlying mechanism of these diseases are malfunctions in the ion channels in skeletal muscle cell membranes that allow electrically charged ions to leak in or out of the muscle cell, causing the cell to depolarize and become unable to move.
The symptoms of periodic paralysis can also be caused by hyperthyroidism, and are then labeled thyrotoxic periodic paralysis; however, if this is the underlying condition there are likely to be other characteristic manifestations, enabling a correct diagnosis.
Periodic paralysis is an autosomal dominant myopathy with considerable variation in penetrance, leading to a spectrum of familial phenotypes (only one parent needs to carry the gene mutation to affect the children, but not all family members who share the gene are affected to the same degree). Specific diseases include:
- Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (), where potassium leaks into the muscle cells from the bloodstream.
- Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (), where potassium leaks out of the cells into the bloodstream.
- Paramyotonia congenita (), a form which often accompanies hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, but may present alone. The primary symptom of paramyotonia congenita is muscle contracture which develops during exercise or activity. Paramyotonia congenita attacks may also be triggered by a low level of potassium in the bloodstream. This means people with both hyperkalemic periodic paralysis and paramyotonia congenita can have attacks with fluctuations of potassium up or down.
- Andersen-Tawil syndrome (), a form of periodic paralysis that includes significant heart rhythm problems, fainting and risk of sudden death. Potassium levels may be low, high, or normal during attacks of ATS. Patients with ATS may also have skeletal abnormalities like scoliosis (curvature of the spine), webbing between the second and third toes or fingers (syndactyly), crooked fingers (clinodactyly), a small jaw (micrognathia) and low-set ears. Patients need to have another form of periodic paralysis to have the Andersen-Tawil. If a patient has hypo or hyper periodic paralysis they have a 50% chance of getting Andersen-Tawil. They just have to have the gene that causes it. This is a rare occurrence of having this. Only around 100 people in the world are recorded to have it.
Typically, episodic ataxia presents as bouts of ataxia induced by startle, stress, or exertion. Some patients also have continuous tremors of various motor groups, known as myokymia. Other patients have nystagmus, vertigo, tinnitus, diplopia or seizures.
While not the same in all people, there are several common triggers that can precipitate an attack:
- Moderate to high consumption of stimulants, such as alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine.
- Low amounts of energy due to hunger, lack of sleep, illness, or physical fatigue.
- Moderate to high presence of stress.
- Menstruation and ovulation.
The condition manifests itself as attacks lasting from a few minutes to several hours. Episodes only happen when the individual is awake, and they remain conscious throughout the attack. Symptoms are most severe in youth and lessen with age. Sufferers can have multiple attacks on a daily basis or may have periods of weeks or months between attacks. Symptoms experienced during attacks can vary and include dystonia, chorea, athetosis, ballismus, or a combination.
Common symptoms include muscle weakness, cramps, stiffness, and tetany.
Episodic ataxia type-3 (EA3) is similar to EA1 but often also presents with tinnitus and vertigo. Patients typically present with bouts of ataxia lasting less than 30 minutes and occurring once or twice daily. During attacks, they also have vertigo, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus and diplopia. These attacks are sometimes accompanied by headaches and precipitated by stress, fatigue, movement and arousal after sleep. Attacks generally begin in early childhood and last throughout the patients' lifetime. Acetazolamide administration has proved successful in some patients. As EA3 is extremely rare, there is currently no known causative gene. The locus for this disorder has been mapped to the long arm of chromosome 1 (1q42).
The onset of this disease is usually noticed in childhood, but often not diagnosed until the third or fourth decade of life. Symptoms include exercise intolerance with muscle pain, early fatigue, painful cramps, and myoglobin in the urine (often provoked by a bout of exercise). Myoglobinuria may result from the breakdown of skeletal muscle known as rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle cells breakdown, sending their contents into the bloodstream.
Patients may exhibit a “second wind” phenomenon. This is characterized by the patient’s better tolerance for aerobic exercise such as walking and cycling after approximately 10 minutes. This is attributed to the combination of increased blood flow and the ability of the body to find alternative sources of energy, like fatty acids and proteins. In the long term, patients may exhibit renal failure due to the myoglobinuria, and with age, patients may exhibit progressively increasing weakness and substantial muscle loss.
Patients may present at emergency rooms with severe fixed contractures of the muscles and often severe pain. These require urgent assessment for rhabdomyolysis as in about 30% of cases this leads to acute renal failure. Left untreated this can be life-threatening. In a small number of cases compartment syndrome has developed, requiring prompt surgical referral.
Usually beginning in one or both hands, MMN is characterized by weakness, muscle atrophy, cramping, and often profuse fasciculations (muscle twitching). The symptoms are progressive over long periods, often in a stepwise fashion, but unlike ALS are often treatable.
Sensory nerves are usually unaffected.
Wrist drop and foot drop (leading to trips and falls) are common symptoms. Other effects can include gradual loss of finger extension, leading to a clawlike appearance. Cold & hot temperatures exacerbates MMN symptoms to such an extent, unlike other neuropathies, that it is being investigated as a diagnostic tool.
Chronic fatigue syndrome a.k.a. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Channelopathy, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Stickler Syndrome, Hypokalemia, Hypotonia (Low Muscle Tone), Exercise intolerance, Mastocytosis, Peripheral neuropathy, Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, Barcoo Fever, Herpes, Hemochromatosis a.k.a. Iron Overload Disorder, Delayed onset muscle soreness, AIDS, HIV, Tumor-induced osteomalacia, Hypovitaminosis D, infarction
Dopamine beta (β)-hydroxylase deficiency is a condition that affects the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS works via two opposing branches, the sympathetic and parasympathetic, both of which antagonistically control involuntary processes that regulate bodily homeostasis. Problems related to DβH deficiency often first appear as complications shortly after birth. Postnatal episodes may include vomiting, dehydration, hypotension, muscle hypotonia, hypothermia, and hypoglycemia.
Due to the deficiency of norepinephrine and epinephrine those affected by dopamine β-hydroxylase deficiency may present with droopy eyelids (ptosis), nasal congestion, and hypotension. The most common complaint of individuals with dopamine β-hydroxylase deficiency is orthostatic hypotension. The symptoms associated with orthostatic hypotension are dizziness, blurred vision, or fainting upon standing. Therefore, DβH deficiency patients may have an inability to stand for a prolonged period of time. This phenomenon is especially pronounced when going from supine to upright positions, such as getting out of bed in the morning. It is also worsened by extreme climates due to loss of fluid through excessive sweating. The inability to maintain normal blood pressure makes it difficult for people with DβH deficiency to exercise (exercise intolerance). Males with DβH deficiency may experience retrograde ejaculation, a discharge of semen backward into the bladder due to dysmotility of their smooth muscle, which as innervated by the ANS. A subset of DβH deficiency patients present with hypermobility. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, another form of dysautonomia, also sees this comorbidity with hypermobility in the form of a rare connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
Another commonly experienced symptom is hypoglycemia, which is thought to be caused by adrenomedullary failure. In looking at the cardiovascular system, a loss of noradrenergic control is seen as T-wave abnormalities on electrocardiogram. Prolactin is frequently suppressed by excessive dopamine found in the patient's central nervous system. Excess dopamine can also affect digestion, producing vomiting and inhibiting motor signaling to the GI tract.
Myopathies in systemic disease results from several different disease processes including endocrine, inflammatory, paraneoplastic, infectious, drug- and toxin-induced, critical illness myopathy, metabolic, collagen related, and myopathies with other systemic disorders. Patients with systemic myopathies often present acutely or sub acutely. On the other hand, familial myopathies or dystrophies generally present in a chronic fashion with exceptions of metabolic myopathies where symptoms on occasion can be precipitated acutely. Most of the inflammatory myopathies can have a chance association with malignant lesions; the incidence appears to be specifically increased only in patients with dermatomyositis.
There are many types of myopathy. ICD-10 codes are provided here where available.
Five different clinical entities have been described under hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies – all characterized by progressive loss of function that predominantly affects the peripheral sensory nerves. Their incidence has been estimated to be about 1 in 25,000.
Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency, Conn's syndrome, Adrenal insufficiency, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Diabetes, Hypogonadism, postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS).
Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is a progressively worsening condition where muscles in the extremities gradually weaken. The disorder, a pure motor neuropathy syndrome, is sometimes mistaken for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) because of the similarity in the clinical picture, especially if muscle fasciculations are present. MMN is thought to be autoimmune. It was first described in the mid-1980s.
Unlike ALS which affects both upper and lower motor nerves, MMN involves only lower motor nerves. Nevertheless, definitive diagnosis is often difficult, and many MMN patients labor for months or years under an ALS diagnosis before finally getting a determination of MMN.
MMN usually involves very little pain however muscle cramps, spasms and twitches can cause pain for some sufferers. MMN is not fatal, and does not diminish life expectation. Many patients, once undergoing treatment, only experience mild symptoms over prolonged periods, though the condition remains slowly progressive. MMN can however, lead to significant disability, with loss of function in hands affecting ability to work and perform everyday tasks, and "foot drop" leading to inability to stand and walk; some patients end up using aids like canes, splints and walkers.
Congenital myopathy is a very broad term for any muscle disorder present at birth. This defect primarily affects skeletal muscle fibres and causes muscular weakness and/or hypotonia. Congenital myopathies account for one of the top neuromuscular disorders in the world today, comprising approximately 6 in 100,000 live births every year. As a whole, congenital myopathies can be broadly classified as follows:
- A distinctive abnormality in skeletal muscle fibres on the cellular level; observable via light microscope
- Symptoms of muscle weakness and hypotonia
- Is a congenital disorder, meaning it occurs during development and symptoms present themselves at birth or in early life.
- Is a genetic disorder.
Acute TM is rarer than chronic TM and symptoms appear within days of onset. Acute TM degrades muscle fibers rapidly. Due to the rapid degradation of muscle fibers patients usually cite severe muscle cramps and muscle pain. Some acute TM patients may present symptoms of blurred vision and bulging eyes due to eye muscle degradation and inflammation, but documented cases are rare. Acute TM patients usually have very weak respiratory muscles and often severe respiratory failure occurs.