Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-12-31
pubmed:abstractText
Asymmetrical facial sweating and flushing has been named the "Harlequin Sign". This is a rare feature, as evident from only 12 cases described up to date. The "Harlequin Sign" represents a local autonomic dysfunction due to a cervical sympathetic deficit located at the pre or postganglionic level on the non-flushing side. We observed slow onset and progression of the "Harlequin Sign" in a 19-year-old man, with preexisting slight miosis on the non-flushing side. The differential diagnosis included other forms of dysautonomia and a secondary origin of this partial Horner's syndrome. Both pupils normally reacted to light, convergence, and pilocarpine eye-drop instillation, but the affected side showed supersensitivity to phenylephrine. Deep tendon reflexes were normal, thus excluding Adie's syndrome. The absence of cholinergic supersensitivity in the iris muscles indicated normal function of the ciliary ganglion and excluded the ocular parasympathetic deficit, also evident for the coexisting Horner's syndrome. The clinical features could be explained by assuming that the lesion was located at the level of postganglionic sympathetic fibers, probably due to trans-synaptic postganglionic neuronal degeneration at the level of the stellate ganglion, thus determining the onset of the hemifacial symptoms.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0393-9340
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
13
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
173-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
The "Harlequin Sign". Case description and review of the literature.
pubmed:affiliation
Ospedale S. Maria Nuova di Firenze.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Case Reports