Abstract

TEIVE, Hélio Afonso Ghizoni et al. Lhermitte's sign and vitamin B12 deficiency: case report. Sao Paulo Med. J. [online]. 2009, vol.127, n.3, pp. 171-173. ISSN 1516-3180.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-31802009000300011.

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.

Keywords : Myelopathy; Vitamin B12 deficiency; Ataxia; Aged; Polyneuropathies.