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. 2010 Jan 7;128(1):1. doi: 10.1590/S1516-31802010000100010

Lhermitte’s sign

Sinal de Lhermitte

Viroj Wiwanitkit I,
PMCID: PMC10936132  PMID: 20512281

Dear Editor,

I read the recent paper by Teive et al. with great interest.1 They mentioned that the case report was a rare case of vitamin B 12 deficiency firstly presenting with Lhermitte’s sign. This is still questionable. Indeed, before any neurological manifestation in cases of vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia development may be seen. Such anemia may present several signs and symptoms. In addition, Lhermitte’s sign can be seen in other disorders that may be observed among the elderly, and this was not completely ruled out in the report by Teive et al.1 The best examples of such disorders are occulted malignancy and multiple sclerosis.2,3

Footnotes

Sources of funding: Not declared

Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok, Thailand

REFERENCES

  • 1.Teive HA, Haratz S, Zavala J, Munhoz RP, Scola RH, Werneck LC. Lhermitte’s sign and vitamin B12 deficiency: case report. Sao Paulo Med J. 2009;127(3):171–173. doi: 10.1590/S1516-31802009000300011. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Kenner M, Menon U, Elliott DG. Multiple sclerosis as a painful disease. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2007;79:303–321. doi: 10.1016/S0074-7742(07)79013-X. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Gemici C. Lhermitte’s sign: Review with special emphasis in oncology practice. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2010;74(2):79–86. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2009.04.009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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