A Young Woman With Blurred Vision and Distal Paresthesias

JAMA Neurol. 2015 Dec;72(12):1519-23. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.2390.

Abstract

A 29-year-old woman presented with blurred vision and distal paresthesias. Her initial evaluation revealed severe bilateral optic disc edema with distal lower-extremity sensory and motor deficits and electrodiagnostic evidence of a length-dependent mixed demyelinating and axonal polyneuropathy. The results of routine diagnostic testing, including laboratory tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and lumbar puncture, were nondiagnostic. A targeted biopsy was ultimately required for diagnosis. In this article, we discuss the differential diagnosis and outline the clinical evaluation indicated for a patient presenting with demyelinating polyneuropathy and concurrent papilledema.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Angiography
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Paresthesia / complications*
  • Paresthesia / diagnosis*
  • Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / blood
  • Vision Disorders / complications*
  • Vision Disorders / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A