- Foster Kennedy syndrome
DiseaseDisorder infobox
Name = Foster Kennedy syndrome
Caption = CT scan of ameningioma , one of the possible masses that can result in Foster Kennedy syndrome.
ICD9 = ICD9|377.04
DiseasesDB = 31967Foster Kennedy syndrome (also known as Gowers-Paton-Kennedy syndrome, Kennedy's phenomenon or Kennedy's syndrome) refers to a constellation of findings associated with tumors of the
frontal lobe . [DorlandsDict|eight/000104343|Kennedy syndrome]Although "Foster Kennedy syndrome" is equated with "Kennedy syndrome", [DorlandsDict|eight/000104168|Foster Kennedy syndrome] it should not be confused with
Kennedy disease , which is named for W. R. Kennedy.Presentation
It is defined as
optic atrophy (loss of nerve fibres in theoptic nerve ) of one eye withpapilledema (optic disc swelling) of the other, due to optic nerve compression and increasedintracranial pressure (ICP). This itself is caused by a mass (such asmeningioma orplasmacytoma , usually a olfactory groove meningioma) on the same side as the optic atrophy.cite book | last=Longmore | first=Murray | coauthors=Ian Wilkinson, Tom Turmezei, Chee Kay Cheung | title=Oxford Handbook of Clinicial Medicine, 7th edition | publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2007 | pages=690 | isbn=0-19-856837-1 ] cite web |url=http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40001224/ |title=Foster Kennedy syndrome |accessdate=2008-08-13 |last=Willacy |first=Hayley] Other associations includecentral scotoma (loss of central visual acuity) andanosmia (the inability to smell). There are other symptoms present in some cases such asnausea andvomiting ,memory loss andemotional lability (i.e.frontal lobe signs).History
The syndrome was first extensively noted by
Robert Foster Kennedy in 1911, a Britishneurologist , who spent most of his career working in theUnited States of America . [cite book |title=Kennedy F; Retrobulbar neuritis as an exact diagnostic sign of certain tumors and abscesses in the frontal lobe |last=Thorofare |first=NJ |year=1911 |publisher=American Journal of the Medical Sciences] However, the first mention of the syndrome came from aWilliam Gowers in 1893. Schultz-Zehden described the symptoms again in 1905. A later description was written by Wilhelm Uhthoff in 1915.cite web |url=http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/1224.html |title=Kennedy's syndrome |accessdate=2008-08-13]Treatment and prognosis
The treatment, and therefore prognosis, varies depending upon the underlying tumour. "Pseudo-Foster Kennedy syndrome" is defined as one-sided optic disc swelling with papilledema in the other eye but with the absence of a mass.cite journal |author=Bansal S, Dabbs T, Long V |title=Pseudo-Foster Kennedy Syndrome due to unilateral optic nerve hypoplasia: a case report |journal=J Med Case Reports |volume=2 |issue= |pages=86 |year=2008 |pmid=18348732 |pmc=2278154 |doi=10.1186/1752-1947-2-86 |url=http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/2//86 |issn= |accessdate=2008-08-13]
References
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