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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Question Title: NeurolathyrismForum: Neurology Forum
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One of my children has neurolathyrism. Do you have any suggestions on what might be done for this? Thanks.
Dear Museh: As you surely know, neurolathyrism is caused by prolonged and excessive dietary consumption of the grass pea due to the presence of excitatory neurotoxins (mainly BOAA, also called beta-ODAP) in this legume. The disease presents as a pure motor progressive spastic paraparesis with much milder involvement of the upper extremities. Although the spasticity can to some extent be controlled with medications such as baclofen or tizanidine, I do not know of any treatment that reverses the pathological process of the disease. Although glutamate AMPA receptors may potentially be hypothesised to be effective, I did not find any reported study of such agents on a medline search. I goes without saying that your son should stop consuming the grass pea.
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