Last reviewed: 26 Jan 2021
Last updated: 22 Jun 2018
Summary
Differentials
Common
- Transient ischaemic attack
- Ischaemic stroke
- Haemorrhagic stroke
- Traumatic brain injury
- Multiple sclerosis
- Hypoglycaemia
- Focal nerve palsy
- Todd's paresis (postictal paralysis)
- Sleep disorders
Uncommon
- Subdural haematoma
- Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH)
- Haematomyelia
- Thoracolumbar spine trauma
- Cervical spine trauma
- Encephalitis
- Brain abscess
- Coxsackievirus
- West Nile virus (WNV)
- Diphtheria
- Poliovirus
- Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS)
- Myasthenia gravis (MG)
- Vasculitis
- Transverse myelitis (TM)
- Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy
- Acute hypokalaemia
- Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP)
- Periodic paralysis
- Amyotrophic lateral syndrome
- Muscular dystrophies
- Common hereditary lysosomal storage diseases
- Type 1 glycogen storage disease (GSD I)
- Drug-induced myopathies
- Drug-induced neuropathy
- Toxin-induced dysfunction
- Compartment syndrome
- Brain tumour
- Spinal cord compression
- Hydrocephalus
- Bell's palsy
Contributors
Authors

Clinical Associate Professor PM&R
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Detroit
MI
Disclosures
KFC declares that he has no competing interests.
Peer reviewers
Assistant Professor of Neurosciences
Hotchkiss Brain Institute
University of Calgary
Alberta
Canada
Disclosures
CT declares that he has no competing interests.
Staff Physician
Department of Neurological Sciences
Institute of Neurology C. Mondino
Pavia
Italy
Disclosures
SR declares that she has no competing interests.
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