抄録
The cases of Myelo-Optico-Neuropathy (SMON) with abdominal symptoms (a disease indicating numbness ascending from the legs, paresthesia, girdle sensation, dysbasia, and optic neuritis with abdominal symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal aching as primary symptoms) diagnosed at the Kure National Hospital during the period from August, 1963, to September, 1967, total 157 including 55 males and 102 females. The frequency of this disease after 30 years of age is especially high in females.
Among the cases, 74 had abdominal surgery in the past. Those who showed leg dyspallesthesia number 136 among 152.
In this disease, the cases on which we could make follow up studies from the stage of only abdominal symptoms to that of appearance of neural symptoms number 29. Recording leg pallesthesia once a week on time basis from the stage of only abdominal symptoms, leg pallesthesia was decreased and disturbed prior to development of neural symptoms such as “numbness” and “dysbasia” appeared. From this fact, it is considered useful for an early diagnosis of SMON to measure leg pallesthesia.
Gastro-intestinal series on SMON patients revealed that the small intestine often showed hypertonia irrespective of the stage of abdominal symptoms or that of neural symptoms and the contrast medium passed through the small intestine very quickly. This is suggestive of vagotonia controlling the small intestinal region.
We have experienced the following fact as an instance of mass outbreak of SMON. In October and November, 1965, 28 cases of mass outbreak of dysentery due to B2 type were found in a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. In November, 1965, 5 SMON patients were found among the 28 cases.
