ICD-9-CM 377.04 | DiseasesDB 31967 | |
Foster–Kennedy syndrome (also known as Gowers–Paton–Kennedy syndrome, Kennedy's phenomenon or Kennedy's syndrome) refers to a constellation of findings associated with tumors of the frontal lobe.
Contents
Although Foster–Kennedy syndrome is equated with Kennedy syndrome, it should not be confused with Kennedy disease, which is named for William R. Kennedy.
Pseudo-Foster–Kennedy syndrome is defined as one-sided optic atrophy with papilledema in the other eye but with the absence of a mass.
Presentation
The syndrome is defined as the following changes:
This syndrome is due to optic nerve compression, olfactory nerve compression, and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) secondary to a mass (such as meningioma or plasmacytoma, usually an olfactory groove meningioma). There are other symptoms present in some cases such as nausea and vomiting, memory loss and emotional lability (i.e., frontal lobe signs).
History
The syndrome was first extensively noted by Robert Foster Kennedy in 1911, a British neurologist, who spent most of his career working in the United States of America. However, the first mention of the syndrome came from a William Gowers in 1893. Schultz-Zehden described the symptoms again in 1905. A later description was written by Wilhelm Uhthoff in 1915.
Treatment and prognosis
The treatment, and therefore prognosis, varies depending upon the underlying tumour.