Gastrointestinal involvement in neurologic disorders: Stiff-man and Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndromes

Many neurologic conditions can affect the striated muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in dysphagia. In this article, two patients with rare neurologic disorders are reported (Stiff-man syndrome and Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome). Both patients had pharyngeal dysphagia. In addition, there was evidence of smooth muscle involvement in other areas of the gastrointestinal tract, specifically abnormal esophageal motility and delayed gastric emptying. In the English literature, there are only two reports of Stiff-man syndrome and dysphagia, and there are no reports of Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome. These represent the first accounts of smooth muscle dysfunction in those uncommon neurologic disorders.