Myopathic dropped head syndrome: a syndrome of mixed aetiology

We report two patients with myopathic dropped head syndrome, a rare and interesting neuromuscular syndrome characterised by a predominant weakness of the neck extensor muscles. The first patient, a middle aged Chinese man, presented with progressive weakness of neck extension but his clinical course later stabilised despite a lack of response to corticosteroids. Muscle biopsy revealed a necrotising myopathy with no evidence of inflammation. This patient supports the existence of an idiopathic restricted non-inflammatory myopathy, a so called isolated neck extensor myopathy syndrome which is recognised to pursue a less progressive, more benign course. Our second patient had histopathological evidence for polymyositis; there was a favourable response to steroids. Our cases underscore the fact that there may be a spectrum of pathological processes associated with the myopathic dropped head syndrome ranging from non-inflammatory muscle necrosis to a full blown inflammatory myositis. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.