OMS Manual/Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 - OMS SYMPTOMS

Description

This chapter is intended to provide details on symptoms that OMS patients may experience at onset as well as when relapses are occurring.

Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome has some very distinct symptoms that can help in prompt diagnosis. Despite this, OMS is often misdiagnosed; most commonly as acute cerebellar ataxia which is a viral infection that just needs time to take care of itself. So, it is not uncommon for doctors to label it as acute cerebellar ataxia even though opsoclonus may be present, and send the toddler home. But OMS’s symptoms show that without treatment, the toddler’s will continue to degrade.

Symptoms

Symptoms of OMS commonly include many of the following:

• Opsoclonus (rapid, involuntary, multivectorial (horizontal and vertical), unpredictable, conjugate fast eye movements without intersaccadic [quick rotation of the eyes] intervals)

• Myoclonus (brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles)

• Cerebellar ataxia both truncal and appendicular

• Aphasia (a language disorder in which there is an impairment of speech and of comprehension of speech, caused by brain damage)

• Mutism (a language disorder in which a person does not speak despite evidence of speech ability in the past, often part of a larger neurological or psychiatric disorder)

• Lethargy

• Irritability or malaise

• Drooling

• Strabismus (a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other)

• Vomiting

• Sleep disturbance (awakening in middle of the night, trouble going to sleep)

• Incontinence

• Random leg itching

• Dizziness

Other Information

Children that experience these symptoms along with a neuroblastoma also likely have OMS. About half of all OMS cases occur in association with Neuroblastoma (a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system usually occurring in infants and children). Parents who suspect that their child has OMS should seek immediate medical treatment with a doctor experienced in the OMS treatment protocols.

Parents who suspect that their child has OMS should seek immediate medical treatment with a doctor experienced in the OMS treatment protocols.