Stiff-Man Syndrome

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Abstract
MEDICAL histories of two patients with stiff-man syndrome are compared with other cases in the literature, demonstrating the similarity of backgrounds and mismanagement of this disease. One of the purposes of this report alludes to the fact that frequently in medicine, when we are confronted with a new set of symptoms that we cannot explain, we readily label these as hysterical or functional. Report of Cases Case 1.— A 36-year-old white woman clerical worker, three years prior to her first hospitalization, noted that minor emotional stimulation, such as being teased by her fellow workers, caused her leg muscles to contract and her legs to become stiff, so that it was necessary for her to walk stiff-legged. At this time she consulted her physician because of extreme emotional instability and difficulty in walking. Her physician was confident that this was a hysterical manifestation, and he strongly advised her to have psychiatric

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