Paraneoplastic Syndromes of the Nervous System
Paraneoplastic Syndromes of the Nervous System
It is defined as the nervous system disorder which is developed in people who have some other cancer. It can affect the many organs like skin, blood, joints etc.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of paraneoplastic syndromes includes:
- Difficulty to maintain balance
- Problem in walking
- Slurred speech
- Memory loss
- Muscular weakness
- Hypotonia
- Epilepsy
- Hallucination
- Vision problems
Causes
Paraneoplastic syndrome occurred when cancerous cells interrupted the normal nerve function in another organ where they metastasis.
Diagnosis
After taking medical history and conducting a physical examination your doctor might recommend a following tests to confirm the diagnosis:
- General physical examination to check the muscles tone and reflexes.
- Blood tests to check the presence of any antibody or hormones level
- Urine test to detect any abnormal protein in blood
- Lumbar puncture
- Imaging test to check the extend of cancer
Treatment
Treatment options for paraneoplastic syndrome includes:
- Medications like steroids and immunosuppressants to reduce the any abnormal antibody formation.
- Drugs for epilepsy
- Medications to improve nerve function
- Intravenous immunoglobulin to destroy any abnormal antibody
- Plasmapheresis to change the plasma