Madelung’s Disease with polyneuropathy in a non-alcoholic Mexican-American male

Madelung’s disease, also known as benign symmetric lipomatosis or Launois-Bensaude syndrome was first described by Sir Benjamin Brodie in 1846 from a series of patients he had encountered characterizing adipose tumors deposited preferentially on the neck [1]. It is a disorder of fat metabolism with deposition of multiple, symmetrical and painless non-encapsulated lipomas. Depending on the type of Madelung’s Disease, the adipose tissue deposition can be seen in the neck, upper extremities, trunk and hip area. About 90% of the cases described in the literature have been associated with chronic alcoholism and tobacco use and in a population of European/ Mediterranean descent, reporting up to 1 in 25,000 cases in Italy to have the condition [2,3]. Rare cases have also been reported in Indians and one case in an African American male [4,5]. We present a case of a 48-year-old Hispanic male of Mexican ancestry with no significant history of alcoholism who presented to our emergency department with chief complaint of progressive proximal muscle weakness in upper and lower extremities resulting in an inability to walk or care for daily activities.