Dystextia: An Early Sign of Pregnancy-Associated Meningioma

Abstract

Objective: The authors report a case of meningioma causing incomprehensible and excessive text messaging in a postpartum woman. Case Report: We report the case of expressive dystextia related to a postpartum, progesterone receptor-positive meningioma. Growth of meningiomas can accelerate during pregnancy and the postpartum period due to expression of hormone receptors, particularly progesterone. This is the first study describing dystextia related to a brain tumor; previous cases of dystextia are associated with stroke and complex migraine. Here expressive dystextia, the inability to compose syntactically comprehensible text messages, preceded acute neurologic signs by several months, and surgical resection of the meningioma eliminated all neurologic sequelae. Possible genetic etiologies for meningioma are discussed since this patient's prior thyroid cancer at age 18 suggests a relationship between the two neoplasms. Conclusions: Since text messaging is becoming one of the principal forms of communication in our society and requires both cognitive and motor skills, clinicians should be aware that dystextia may be the initial sign of significant neurologic pathology. We propose that an inquiry about altered text messaging frequency and comprehensibility should be a standard part of the neurologic evaluation.

Dystextie et dysdactie, symptômes de l’ère digitale : à propos d’un cas

“…Les pathologies associées à la dystextie sont diverses (Tableau 1), avec une nette prédominance des accidents vasculaires ischémiques [1 à 11]. Les autres pathologies décrites étant la migraine [11], le méningiome [12] et la sclérose latérale amyotrophique avec démence fronto-temporale [13]. Parmi les accidents vasculaires ischémiques, tous touchaient le territoire sylvien et dans 5 cas sur 11, l'infarctus était situé dans le cortex insulaire de l'hémisphère dominant.…”

Aphasic Dystextia as Presenting Feature of Ischemic Stroke in a Pediatric Patient

“…Dystextia or incoherent text messaging particularly when deviating from the usual norms of texting for an individual is an emerging subset of aphasia [ 1 ]. There are scattered case reports of adults where dystextia is the presenting symptom of a focal neurological deficit [ 1 – 7 ]. There have been no cases reported with this finding in the pediatric population.…”