Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare progressive neurological disorder characterised by painful muscle spasms and progressive muscle rigidity, leading in some cases to impaired ambulation. Anti-amphiphysin positive SPS is a paraneoplastic variant, frequently associated with breast carcinomas and small cell lung cancers. We report the case of a 53-year-old patient who developed symptoms of anti-amphiphysin positive SPS 3 years before being diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. Specifically, computed tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT), mammogram, colonoscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not identify malignancy during the 3 years following the onset of symptoms. Following diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma and completion of curative-intent oncological treatment, the patient experienced improvement, though not complete resolution, in his SPS symptoms. This case highlights the importance of thorough oncological workup when clinical presentation and diagnostic testing are suggestive of anti-amphiphysin positive SPS.

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Knowledge and publication of human anatomic variations has become increasingly emphasized in the clinical setting with the intent of decreasing the occurrence of misdiagnosis and surgical complications. We report a previously undocumented variant of sternalis muscle. The sternalis muscle is an anatomical variation of the anterior thoracic wall that is rare, though well‐documented. This inconstant muscle is typically parasternal and superficial to pectoralis major muscle, with its fibers running vertically. Dissection of the anterior thoracic wall on an 83‐year‐old female cadaver revealed bilateral sternalis muscles. The right sternalis muscle has a single belly and can be classified using the Snosek et al. (2014) classification system as a simple type, left single. The left sternalis muscle presented with three muscle bellies, each having a unique pattern of superior attachments. This variation is previously undocumented, and we propose the addition of a new subtype of sternalis classification, as well as a modification to the Snosek et al. (2014) classification scheme to include classifying different muscle bellies when multiple are present.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

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