Zoster paresis: asymptomatic MRI lesions far beyond the site of rash and focal weakness

Neuromuscular complications in cancer

Cancer is becoming a treatable and even often curable disease. The neuromuscular system can be affected by direct tumor invasion or metastasis, neuroendocrine, metabolic, dysimmune/inflammatory, infections and toxic as well as paraneoplastic conditions. Due to the nature of cancer treatment, which frequently is based on a DNA damaging mechanism, treatment related toxic side effects are frequent and the correct identification of the causative mechanism is necessary to initiate the proper treatment. The peripheral nervous system is conventionally divided into nerve roots, the proximal nerves and plexus, the peripheral nerves (mono- and polyneuropathies), the site of neuromuscular transmission and muscle. This review is based on the anatomic distribution of the peripheral nervous system, divided into cranial nerves (CN), motor neuron (MND), nerve roots, plexus, peripheral nerve, the neuromuscular junction and muscle. The various etiologies of neuromuscular complications - neoplastic, surgical and mechanic, toxic, metabolic, endocrine, and paraneoplastic/immune - are discussed separately for each part of the peripheral nervous system.

Lower Back Pain with Sciatic Disorder Following L5 Dermatome Caused by Herpes Zoster Infection

We report the case of a 62-year-old patient with lower back pain radiating into the right leg accompanied by numbness. The pain had an acute onset and was resistant to conservative pain treatment. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the lumbar spine showed no degenerative discovertebral lesions, but a swelling of the nerve root supplying the affected dermatome. For pain treatment the patient received lumbar epidural infiltrations. During this treatment the patient suddenly developed a skin rash with grouped vesicular blisters on an erythematous ground. After the diagnosis of a lumbar herpes zoster and an acyclovir treatment, the patient could be discharged in an ameliorated condition. This case demonstrates the importance to consider rare causes of lumbosciatic pain and disorders and to acknowledge unspecific changes in a MRI scan.

Severe headache with eye involvement from herpes zoster ophthalmicus, trigeminal tract, and brainstem nuclei

A 43-year-old female presented with severe sharp stabbing right-sided periorbital and retroorbital area headache, dull-aching unilateral jaw pain, eyelid swelling, ptosis, and tearing of the right eye but no rash. The pain episodes lasted five minutes to one hour and occurred 10–15 times per day with unremitting milder pain between the attacks. She later developed an erythematous maculopapular rash over the right forehead and therefore was treated with antivirals. MRI performed one month after the onset revealed small hypersignal-T2 in the right dorsolateral mid-pons and from the right dorsolateral aspect of the pontomedullary region to the right dorsolateral aspect of the upper cervical cord, along the course of the principal sensory nucleus and spinal nucleus of the right trigeminal nerve. No definite contrast enhancement of the right brain stem/upper cervical cord was seen. Orbital imaging showed no abnormality of bilateral optic nerves/chiasm, extraocular muscles, and globes. Slight enhancement of the right V1, V2, and the cisterna right trigeminal nerve was detected. Our findings support the hypothesis of direct involvement by virus theory, reflecting rostral viral transmission along the gasserian ganglion to the trigeminal nuclei at brainstem and caudal spreading along the descending tract of CN V.