Locomotor ataxia

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"Nude man with locomotor ataxia walking", Eadweard Muybridge Nude man with locomotor ataxia walking (rbm-QP301M8-1887-546).jpg
"Nude man with locomotor ataxia walking", Eadweard Muybridge

Locomotor ataxia is the inability to precisely control one's own bodily movements. [1]

Contents

Disease

People afflicted with this disease may walk in a jerky, non-fluid manner. They will not know where their arms and legs are without looking (i.e. a failure of proprioception), but can, for instance, feel and locate a hot object placed against their feet. It is often a symptom of tabes dorsalis, which is a key finding in tertiary syphilis.

It is caused by degeneration of the posterior (dorsal) white column of the spinal cord.

The chilling effects of this condition and its connection to venereal disease are dramatized in the story "Love O' Women" by Rudyard Kipling.

Bram Stoker's death certificate named the cause of death as "Locomotor Ataxia 6 months", presumed to be a reference to syphilis. [2] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

Related Research Articles

Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements, that indicates dysfunction of parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bram Stoker</span> Irish novelist and short story writer (1847–1912)

Abraham Stoker was an Irish author who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End's Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.

<i>Dracula</i> 1897 novel by Bram Stoker

Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. An epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, investigate, hunt and kill Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syphilis</span> Sexually transmitted infection

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents. The primary stage classically presents with a single chancre though there may be multiple sores. In secondary syphilis, a diffuse rash occurs, which frequently involves the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. There may also be sores in the mouth or vagina. In latent syphilis, which can last for years, there are few or no symptoms. In tertiary syphilis, there are gummas, neurological problems, or heart symptoms. Syphilis has been known as "the great imitator" as it may cause symptoms similar to many other diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabes dorsalis</span> Medical condition of late-stage neurosyphilis

Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration of the neural tracts primarily in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord. These patients have lancinating nerve root pain which is aggravated by coughing, and features of sensory ataxia with ocular involvement.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1992 film) Film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American vampire horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits. Set in 19th century England and Romania, it follows the titular vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to the vampire's reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", is written and performed by Annie Lennox.

The Bram Stoker Award for Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for novels.

The Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for short fiction.

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Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992. They later expanded to encompass a magazine and website featuring news, interviews, and reviews related to horror literature.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Holmwood</span> Character in Bram Stokers novel Dracula

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posterior spinal artery syndrome</span> Human spinal cord disorder

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury(I) iodide</span> Chemical compound

Mercury(I) iodide is a chemical compound of mercury and iodine. The chemical formula is Hg2I2. It is photosensitive and decomposes easily to mercury and HgI2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Addison (poet)</span> American poet and writer

Linda D. Addison is an American poet and writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Addison is the first African-American winner of the Bram Stoker Award, which she won five times. The first two awards were for her poetry collections Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes (2001) and Being Full of Light, Insubstantial (2007). Her poetry and fiction collection How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend won the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. She received a fourth HWA Bram Stoker for the collection The Four Elements, written with Marge Simon, Rain Graves, and Charlee Jacob. Her fifth HWA Bram Stoker was for the collection The Place of Broken Things, written with Alessandro Manzetti. Addison is a founding member of the CITH writing group.

Bibliography of works on Dracula is a listing of non-fiction literary works about the book Dracula or derivative works about its titular vampire Count Dracula.

References

  1. Denslow, Legrand N. (1909). "I. The Surgical Treatment of Locomotor Ataxia". Annals of Surgery. 49 (6): 737–750. doi:10.1097/00000658-190906000-00001. PMC   1407127 . PMID   17862352.
  2. Davison, Carol Margaret (November 1, 1997). Bram Stoker's Dracula: Sucking Through the Century, 1897-1997. Dundurn. ISBN   9781554881055 via Google Books.