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Review
. 2007 Oct;8(10):715-20.
doi: 10.1631/jzus.2007.B0715.

Lance-Adams syndrome: a report of two cases

Yan-xing Zhang  1 , Jian-ren Liu, Biao Jiang, Hui-qin Liu, Mei-ping Ding, Shui-jiang Song, Bao-rong Zhang, Hong Zhang, Bin Xu, Huai-hong Chen, Zhong-jin Wang, Jian-zheng Huang
Affiliations
Review

Lance-Adams syndrome: a report of two cases

Yan-xing Zhang et al. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2007 Oct.

Abstract

Chronic post-hypoxic myoclonus, also known as Lance-Adams syndrome (LAS), is a rare complication of successful cardiopulmanry resuscitation often accompanied by action myoclonus and cerebellar ataxia. It is seen in patients who have undergone a cardiorespiratory arrest, regained consciousness afterwards, and then developed myoclonus days or weeks after the event. Worldwide, 122 cases have been reported in the literature so far, including 1 case of Chinese. Here we report 2 Chinese LAS patients with detailed neuroimagings. Cranial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of patient 1, a 52-year-old woman, showed a mild hypoperfusion in her left temporal lobe, whereas patient 2, a 54-year-old woman, manifested a mild bilateral decrease of glucose metabolism in the frontal lobes and a mild to moderate decrease of the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) peak in the bilateral hippocampi by cranial [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomographic (PET) scan and cranial magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), respectively. We also review the literature on the neuroimaging, pathogenesis, and treatment of LAS.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Four weeks after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR), electroencephalogram (EEG) of case 1 showed low-amplitude alpha waves, diffuse delta activity, and a moderate amount of theta waves in daytime (a), and some sharp and slow waves detected at night (b)
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Four weeks after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR), electroencephalogram (EEG) of case 1 showed low-amplitude alpha waves, diffuse delta activity, and a moderate amount of theta waves in daytime (a), and some sharp and slow waves detected at night (b)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cranial single photon emission computed tomography scan of case 1 shows mild hypoperfusion in the left temporal lobe (arrows) two months after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Ten months after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR) cranial magnetic resonance spectroscopy of case 2 shows a moderate decrease of the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) peak in the left hippocampus (a) and a mild decrease in the right hippocampus (b). The NAA/(Cho+Cr) ratio in the left and right hippocampus was 0.479 and 0.54, respectively
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Ten months after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR) cranial magnetic resonance spectroscopy of case 2 shows a moderate decrease of the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) peak in the left hippocampus (a) and a mild decrease in the right hippocampus (b). The NAA/(Cho+Cr) ratio in the left and right hippocampus was 0.479 and 0.54, respectively
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Ten months after cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR) [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomographic (PET) scan of case 2 shows a mild decrease of glucose metabolism in bilateral frontal lobes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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