Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyū no shinpo
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Central nervous system hyperexcitability disorders, known as stiff-man/person syndrome (SPS), are thought to be related to the regulatory disturbance of inhibitory synaptic transmission of motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. SPS is characterized by stiffness and spasms of the axis and limbs and is divided into two clinical subgroups: classic SPS, which affects the lumbar, trunk, and proximal limb muscles, and SPS-plus syndrome. The latter comprises (1) the stiff-limb subtype, in which symptom is limited to the lower limbs; (2) jerking stiff-man syndrome, characterized by chronically progressive stiffness and myoclonus; and (3) acute-onset and progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus. ⋯ In paraneoplastic SPS, anti-amphiphysin antibodies have been shown in patients with breast cancer or small cell lung cancer. One case of mediastinal tumor with anti-gephyrin antibodies has also been reported. However, the roles of these autoantibodies in the pathomechanisms of SPS have not yet been elucidated.