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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Stiffness In The Muscles And Difficulty In Swallowing?

Grandson is 20. Two years ago he started with right sided muscle rigidity, followed a few months later by unintelligible speech ( slurred and very fast) followed by unreadable handwriting, and trouble swallowing. He has been to the Mayo Clinic and they discovered his spinal fluid is not normal. They thought it might be genetic or immune. They tried 12 weeks of steroid IVs but to no avail. They do not know what is wrong. Help!
Wed, 13 Feb 2019
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

Sorry to hear about his problem, it's really painful to find a young person so impaired. The problem is very likely a neurodegenerative disorder, that is probably worsening with time.

Most of the times it cause is not known. No response to steroids indicate it unlikely to be autoimmune.

There are a number of diseases like certain types of motor neuron disease, viruses, lesions in the brain. The possibilities are many.

This would need a detailed assessment by a Neurologist, and multidisciplinary approach for management. So take him to a neurologist for proper plan ahead.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take care

Regards,
Dr Mahboob Ur Rahman , General & Family Physician
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What Causes Stiffness In The Muscles And Difficulty In Swallowing?

Hi, Sorry to hear about his problem, it s really painful to find a young person so impaired. The problem is very likely a neurodegenerative disorder, that is probably worsening with time. Most of the times it cause is not known. No response to steroids indicate it unlikely to be autoimmune. There are a number of diseases like certain types of motor neuron disease, viruses, lesions in the brain. The possibilities are many. This would need a detailed assessment by a Neurologist, and multidisciplinary approach for management. So take him to a neurologist for proper plan ahead. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Take care Regards, Dr Mahboob Ur Rahman , General & Family Physician