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. 2000 Nov;83(5):439–442. doi: 10.1136/adc.83.5.439

Paraparesis, hypermanganesaemia, and polycythaemia: a novel presentation of cirrhosis

S Gospe 1, R Caruso 1, M Clegg 1, C Keen 1, N Pimstone 1, J Ducore 1, S Gettner 1, R Kreutzer 1
PMCID: PMC1718535  PMID: 11040156

Abstract

Progressive myelopathy is a rare complication of chronic hepatic disease which has never been reported in the paediatric age group. We describe the 11 year course of an adolescent male with hepatic myelopathy caused by cryptogenic micronodular cirrhosis. His condition has been associated with persistent polycythaemia and extraordinary increases of whole blood manganese, with magnetic resonance imaging evidence of manganese deposition within the basal ganglia and other regions of the brain. The patient has developed neither liver failure nor parkinsonism. The pathophysiological bases of this multiorgan system disorder are described.



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Selected References

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