Tabes Dorsalis history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Tabes dorsalis is a slow degeneration of the nerve cells and nerve fibers that carry sensory information to the brain. The degenerating nerves are in the dorsal columns of the spinal cord (the portion closest to the back of the body) and carry information that help maintain a person's sense of position.
History and symptoms
Symptoms may not appear for some decades after the initial infection and include: weakness, diminished reflexes, paresthesias including morbid cutaneous sensations having no objective cause, shooting and burning pains, pricking sensations, and formication (a sensation like that produced by small insects crawling over skin), and hypesthesias (abnormally diminished cutaneous, especially tactile, sensory modalities), unsteady gait (locomotor ataxia), progressive degeneration of the joints, loss of coordination, episodes of intense pain and disturbed sensation (including glossodynia), personality changes, dementia, deafness, visual impairment, and impaired response to light. The skeletal musculature is hypotonic due to destruction of the sensory limb of the spindle reflex. The deep tendon reflexes are also diminished or absent. For example, the knee jerk or patellar reflex may be lacking, a characteristic finding in tabes known as Westphal's sign.
Tabes dorsalgia is a related back pain.
What are the symptoms of Tabes dorsalis?
- Abnormal sensations (paresthesia), often called "lightning pains"
- Difficulty walking
- Loss of coordination
- Loss of reflexes
- Muscle weakness
- Wide-based gait (the person walks with the legs far apart)
In Tabes dorsalis, there are also symptoms of nervous system damage, including:
- Mental illness
- Stroke
- Vision changes