C A Foster1, P Jabbour. 1. Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado, USA. carol.foster@uchsc.edu
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Eponym lists in major sources can give an aura of legitimacy to discredited diagnoses, as exemplified by the case of Barré-Lieou syndrome, a 'rare' vestibular disorder. METHODS: A literature review for information on the posterior cervical syndrome of Barré-Lieou. RESULTS: Barré-Lieou syndrome includes very common symptoms--tinnitus, dizziness, and head or neck pain--attributed to ischaemia caused by cervical sympathetic nerve compression. Its original description brings together many unrelated disorders, and its causative mechanism has been discredited. However, it appears credulously in a number of eponym lists, and references to the syndrome are steadily increasing on the internet in general and on alternative medicine and legal profession websites in particular. CONCLUSION: By inclusion in eponym lists, without a disclaimer, a syndrome can be given legitimacy before the general public. A syndrome, such as Barré-Lieou syndrome, that is useless to the medical profession can unfortunately prove to be very useful for litigants and disability claimants.
BACKGROUND: Eponym lists in major sources can give an aura of legitimacy to discredited diagnoses, as exemplified by the case of Barré-Lieou syndrome, a 'rare' vestibular disorder. METHODS: A literature review for information on the posterior cervical syndrome of Barré-Lieou. RESULTS: Barré-Lieou syndrome includes very common symptoms--tinnitus, dizziness, and head or neck pain--attributed to ischaemia caused by cervical sympathetic nerve compression. Its original description brings together many unrelated disorders, and its causative mechanism has been discredited. However, it appears credulously in a number of eponym lists, and references to the syndrome are steadily increasing on the internet in general and on alternative medicine and legal profession websites in particular. CONCLUSION: By inclusion in eponym lists, without a disclaimer, a syndrome can be given legitimacy before the general public. A syndrome, such as Barré-Lieou syndrome, that is useless to the medical profession can unfortunately prove to be very useful for litigants and disability claimants.