E-Pearl of the Week: Beevor's Sign

April 5, 2011

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Beevor's Sign

The Beevor's sign is the upward displacement of the umbilicus with neck flexion. It indicates lower abdominal muscle weakness and has been classically described with thoracic cord lesions at or below T10. Beevor's sign is also commonly seen (54-90%) in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) -- the third most common muscular dystrophy. Its occurrence in FSHD is due to asymmetric abdominal muscle weakness typically resulting in weaker lower abdominal muscles.

References

1. Awerbuch GI, Nigro MA, Wishnow R. Beevor's sign and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy. Arch Neurol 1990;47:1208-1209.
2. Eger K, Jordan B, Habermann S, Zierz S. Beevor's sign in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy: an old sign with new implications. J Neurol. 2010;257:436-438.

Submitted by:
Constantine Farmakidis, MD, Colleen Donlin-Smith, MA, and Rabi Tawil, MD.

Disclosure: Dr. Farmakidis and Ms. Donlin-Smith have no disclosures. Dr. Tawil receives research support from the NIH grants NS061795-01A2 [co-PI] and P01NS069539-01 [co-PI], the SMA Foundation, and the Fields Family Foundation.

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