HOQUET DIABOLIQUE - INTRACTABLE HICCUPS AS A MANIFESTATION OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS

In 3 patients, intractable hiccups occurred as part of the symptomatology of multiple sclerosis. In 1 patient intractable hiccups were the presenting complaint, and in another patient exacerbations of symptoms were almost always heralded by intractable hiccups. Intractable hiccups occur in a variety of diseases, including many that affect the brainstem and cervical cord, but have not been reported in multiple sclerosis. The hiccup may be a primitive gastrointestinal reflex that is disinhibited by lesions such as multiple sclerosis plaques. Carbamazepine was successful in arresting the hiccups in 1 of the cases presented.