 |
|
Musculoskeletal Pain in Patients With Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2
Annette George, MD;
Christiane Schneider-Gold, MD;
Sandra Zier, MD;
Karlheinz Reiners, MD;
Claudia Sommer, MD
Arch Neurol. 2004;61:1938-1942.
Background Myotonic dystrophy type 2/proximal myotonic myopathy (DM2/PROMM) is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder. Musculoskeletal pain is one of its frequent symptoms but also occurs in other chronic noninflammatory muscle disorders (OMD).
Objectives To characterize the phenotype of DM2/PROMM-associated musculoskeletal pain and to test whether it shows features distinct from OMD.
Setting Outpatient clinic for patients with neuromuscular disorders, university hospital.
Patients Twenty-four patients with DM2/PROMM (12 women and 12 men; median age, 57 years) and 24 age- and sex-matched patients with OMD consecutively recruited during a 3-year period were examined for musculoskeletal pain.
Methods Standardized pain assessment; McGill Pain Questionnaire; depression score; and quantification of pain thresholds to blunt pressure on limb muscles with analgometer.
Results Unlike patients with OMD who have musculoskeletal pain, patients with DM2/PROMM distinguished a wide spectrum of coexisting pain types. The major pain type in patients with DM2/PROMM was exercise-related, temperature-modulated, and palpation-induced, whereas, cramps were rare. In 8 of the patients with DM2/PROMM and in 3 of the patients with OMD, musculoskeletal pain was the most disabling symptom.
Conclusion Besides many similarities, DM2/PROMM-associated musculoskeletal pain shows features distinct from OMD.
Author Affiliations: Department of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany (Drs George, Schneider-Gold, Zier, Reiners, and Sommer). Dr George is now with the Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, England.
|
