Walsh & Hoyt: Paraneoplastic Rigidity, Stiff-Man Syndrome, and Neuromyotonia

In the setting of a known or suspected neoplasm, a patient may experience progressive rigidity of the trunk and limbs from one of three paraneoplastic disorders: encephalomyelitis with predominant spinal cord involvement, an unusual syndrome called the stiff-man syndrome, and neuromyotonia. Progressive rigidity in the setting of encephalomyelitis is discussed above. In this section, we discuss the paraneoplastic stiff-man syndrome and paraneoplastic neuromyotonia.