Chapter 24 - Muscle and peripheral nerve manifestations of stroke

Summary

Stroke is a common disorder of the central nervous system, often with secondary or associated neuromuscular manifestations. Stroke-related neuromuscular manifestations include peripheral neuropathy, myopathy, and dysautonomia. This chapter reviews primary as well as secondary neuromuscular manifestations of stroke. Secondary changes in muscles, connective tissues, and peripheral nerves in limbs rendered paretic or spastic by stroke have been demonstrated with electrophysiological, biomechanical, and histopathological methods. Vasculopathy in neurofibromatosis (NF) is rare but is well characterized in the form of intracranial occlusive arterial disease, cervical arteriovenous fistula, and intracranial aneurysm. Hemiplegic atrophy has long been observed in both human subjects and in experimental subhuman primates after upper motor neuron (UMN) lesions. Cardiac arrhythmias including malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias and atrioventricular (AV) conduction blocks have been frequently described within the first 24 hours after stroke and can cause sudden death.