The locked-in syndrome: The early French descriptions

H A G Teive; M G Ferreira; L Coutinho; C H F Camargo; R P Munhoz; O Walusinski

doi:10.1016/j.neurol.2022.03.017

The locked-in syndrome: The early French descriptions

Rev Neurol (Paris). 2022 Dec;178(10):996-998. doi: 10.1016/j.neurol.2022.03.017. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

Authors

H A G Teive¹, M G Ferreira², L Coutinho², C H F Camargo³, R P Munhoz⁴, O Walusinski⁵

Affiliations

¹ Neurology Service, Internal Medicine Department, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil; Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
² Neurology Service, Internal Medicine Department, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
³ Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Gloria and Morton Shulman Movement Disorders Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Private Office, Brou, France.

PMID: 35902307
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurol.2022.03.017

Abstract

The classic 1966 description of locked-in syndrome was performed by Plum and Posner. Here, we revisit the world's first case report of this condition, which was presented in 1875 by Camille Darolles, an intern supervised by François Damaschino, at a monthly meeting of the Société Anatomique de Paris chaired by Jean-Martin Charcot. We also review the fascination of classic writers with this syndrome, including Alexandre Dumas, a genius of literature and known admirer of the medical sciences who, in the book "The Count of Monte Cristo" published in 1846, described a character with this condition.

Keywords: Brainstem; Charcot; Locked-in syndrome; Stroke.

Publication types

Case Reports
Review

MeSH terms

Cognition
Humans
Locked-In Syndrome*
Medicine*
Neurology*