Would Francisco Soca have been the first to relate toe phenomenon as pyramidal disorders?
INTRODUCTION
The Uruguayan physician Francisco Soca, who specialized in neurology in Jean-Martin Charcot's clinic, defended a thesis at the Paris Faculty of Medicine in 1888 on Friedreich's ataxia in eleven patients. In this work he described the presence of toe phenomenon.


OBJECTIVE
This historical note presents a toe sign described by the Soca eight years before Babiński's classic description.


DISCUSSION
In the late 1800s Soca completed a specialization in neurology at the service run by Charcot in Paris. He defended an important thesis in 1888 assessing data from 11 Friedreich's ataxia. In his thesis, Soca also described the toe phenomenon and the presence of structural changes in the feet of these patients that were not described in the Friedreich study published in 1863.


CONCLUSION
The Soca's thesis contained the description of toe extension associated with pyramidal tract lesions, eight years later described and further immortalized as Babiński's sign. Therefore, Soca had already publicized this sign as being representative of a pyramidal dysfunction before Babiński or any other neurologist.
['Teive|Hélio A G|HAG|', 'Camargo|Carlos Henrique F|CHF|', 'Sommaruga|Nicolás|N|', 'Amorin-Costábile|Héctor Ignacio|HI|', 'Walusinski|Olivier|O|']
D005602:France D049672:History, 19th Century D006801:Humans D008297:Male D016472:Motor Neuron Disease D009462:Neurology D010820:Physicians D001405:Reflex, Babinski D014034:Toes
Toe phenomenon Babiński’s sign Plantar extension sign