Brown Sequard Syndrome
National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.
Synonyms
- BSS
- Hemisection of the Spinal Cord
- Partial Spinal Sensory Syndrome
- Hemiparaplegic Syndrome
- Spastic Spinal Monoplegia Syndrome
General Discussion
Brown-Sequard syndrome is a rare spinal disorder that results from an injury to one side of the spinal cord in which the spinal cord is damaged but is not severed completely. It is usually caused by an injury to the spine in the region of the neck or back. In many cases, affected individuals have received some type of puncture wound in the neck or in the back that damages the spine and causes symptoms to appear.
Characteristically, the affected person loses the sense of touch, vibrations and/or position in three dimensions below the level of the injury (hemiparalysis or asymmetric paresis). The sensory loss is particularly strong on the same side (ipsilateral) as the injury to the spine. These sensations are accompanied by a loss of the sense of pain and of temperature (hypalgesia) on the side of the body opposite (contralateral) to the side at which the injury was sustained.
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Resources
Spinal Cord Society
19051 County Hwy. 1
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
USA
Tel: (218)739-5252
Fax: (218)739-5262
Email: scs-nc@nc.rr.com
Internet: http://www.spinalcordsociety.com
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
6701 Democracy
Suite 300-9
Bethesda, MD 20817
USA
Tel: (301)214-4006
Fax: (301)881-9817
Tel: (800)962-9629
Email: info@spinalcord.org
Internet: http://www.spinalcord.org
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824
Tel: (301)496-5751
Fax: (301)402-2186
Tel: (800)352-9424
TDD: (301)468-5981
Email: me20t@nih.gov
Internet: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
American Spinal Injury Association
345 East Superior
Room 1436
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: (312)238-6207
Fax: (312)238-0869
Email: mars@northwestern.edu
Spinal Cord Injury Network International
3911 Princeton Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95405-7013
Tel: (707)577-8796
Fax: (707)577-0605
Tel: (800)548-2673
Email: library@spinalcordinjury.org
Internet: http://www.spinalcordinjury.org
Genetic and Rare Diseases (GARD) Information Center
PO Box 8126
Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8126
Tel: (301)251-4925
Fax: (301)251-4911
Tel: (888)205-2311
TDD: (888)205-3223
Email: ordr@od.nih.gov
Internet: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/Default.aspx
For a Complete Report
For a Complete Report
This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. ® (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be obtained for a small fee by visiting the NORD website. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational treatments (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, see http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html
