Happy Mardi Gras – “Laissez les bons temps rouler!”

Today is Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday.”  It is the last day before lent starts tomorrow, Ash Wednesday.  This got me thinking of what medical diagnoses or conditions also have a French connection. 

The first one we may think of is Guillain-Barre disease or syndrome.  While most of us have heard of this, and as coders, many of us have coded this, it is a rare condition.  Cleveland Clinic notes this autoimmune condition can happen at any age, but those between the ages of 30 and 50 are most affected. 

In Guillain-Barre syndrome the patient’s immune system attacks their peripheral nerves.  Initial symptoms may include numbness and tingling, but muscle weakness can progress to paralysis.  Cleveland Clinic does go on to note that most people do fully recover from Guillian-Barre with treatment. 

The American Academy of Neurology Journals notes the syndrome was named for French neurologists George Guillian and Jean-Alexandre Barre who identified this in soldiers in 1916.  Another French physician, Andre Strohl, was a radiologist in World War I who contributed to reflex and nerve conduction studies, but his name was left off subsequent publications and the syndrome.  We would assign G61.0 for Guillian-Barre syndrome. 

Next French influence is Dupuytren’s Contracture.  This genetic disorder is also known as the Viking’s disease.  According to the National Library of Medicine, baron Guillaume Dupuytren identified the palmar fascia as the cause of this contraction in 1831 after dissecting the hand of a patient who died with this disorder.  While it is thought other surgeons were aware of the etiology of the condition, the presentation by baron Guillaume Dupuytren was so brilliant that his name was linked to the disorder.  M72.0 would be assigned for palmar fascial fibromatosis [Dupuytren]. 

We are familiar with Tourette’s syndrome, and it sounds French, but does it have that French connection?  Oui it does! The Tourette Association of America gives a history of the syndrome.  Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette published an article about a condition he called “maladie des tics.”  This article was published in 1885 when de la Tourette was 28 years old.  Gilles de la Tourette studied under French neurologist Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot and it was Dr. Charcot who renamed the condition after Gilles de la Tourette.  F95.2 would be assigned for Tourette’s syndrome or disorder.  

Dr. Charcot is often thought to be the father of modern neurology – Sigmund Freud was also one of his students.  If the name Charcot sounds familiar, there is good reason for that.  Charcot arthropathy is named for him as is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.  Charcot’s joint, or neuropathic arthropathy would be assigned as M14.6, with codes for specific sites, multiple sites, vertebrae and unspecified site.  Charcot-Marie-Tooth is named for Dr. Charcot, French physician Dr. Pierre Marie as well as English physician Dr. Howard Henry Tooth.  G60.0 would be assigned for that hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. 

These are just a few of the diseases and disorders that have a French connection.  Challenge your coding team with a similar type topic to research and report back on.  It is a fun way to keep your team engaged and learn a little bit in the process.

André Strohl: Why Was his Name Omitted from Guillain-Barré Syndrome’s Eponym? (S22.003) | Neurology

Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS): Symptoms & Treatment

[Dupuytren’s disease – the story of an eponym] – PubMed

125 Years of Tourette Syndrome: The Discovery, Early History and Future of the Disorder – Tourette Association of America

An overview of the Charcot foot pathophysiology – PMC