Research Information System
NEUROSURGERY QUARTERLY, vol.18, no.1, pp.74-76, 2008 (SCI-Expanded)
A 52-year-old man was admitted to the clinic with complaints of progressive bilateral upper limb weakness. He was diagnosed with thymic neuroendocrine carcinoma 8 months earlier. Neurologic examination showed bilateral upper limb paresis. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging showed soft tissue mass in C2-7 levels spreading to neural foramen and spinal canal in left paravertebral area, and bone marrow infiltration compatible with metastases in C5-6-7 vertebral bodies. Electrophysiologic examination showed axonal type involvement of C5-8 myotomes prominent on the left. "Man-in-the-barrel syndrome" refers to a clinical syndrome of brachial diplegia. This case is presented because reported causes of man-in-the-barrel syndrome include various cerebral, brainstem, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system involvement, but no cervical spinal cord metastases have been reported as causative.