Some patients require mobility aids due to the risk of falls. About 65 percent of SPS patients are unable to function independently. About ten percent of SPS patients require intensive care at some point; sudden death occurs in about the same number of patients. These deaths are usually caused by metabolic acidosis or an autonomic crisis. Epidemiology
SPS is estimated to have a prevalence of about one per million. Underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis hinder epidemiological information about the condition and may have led to its prevalence being underestimated. In the United Kingdom, 119 cases were identified between 2000 and 2005. It does not predominantly occur in any racial or ethnic group. The age of onset varies from about 30 to 60, and it most frequently occurs in people in their 40s. Five to ten percent of patients with SPS have the paraneoplastic variant of the condition. In one group of 127 patients, only 11 of them had paraneoplastic symptoms. About 35 percent of SPS patients have type I diabetes. History
SPS was first described by Moersch and Woltman in 1956. Their description of the disease was based on 14 cases that they had observed over 32 years. Using electromyography, they noted that motor-unit firing suggested that voluntary muscle contractions were occurring in their patients. Previously, cases of SPS had been dismissed as psychogenic problems. Moersch and Woltman initially called the condition "stiff-man syndrome", but the first female patient was confirmed in 1958 and a young boy was confirmed to have it in 1960.
: Shokugeki no Soma
Jarlskona Soma, a character in Assassins Creed: Valhalla
Ryu Soma, a character in Argento Soma

Places
South Main, a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Soma, Gambia, a town in Gambia
Sama, South Khorasan or Somā, Iran
Sōma, Aomori, a village in Nakatsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
Sōma, Fukushima, a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
Sōma District, Fukushima, a district in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
Soma, Manisa, a town and district of Manisa Province, Turkey
South of Market, San Francisco or SoMa, a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, U.S
SoMa, the 4th arrondissement part of Le Marais in Paris, France

Science
Soma (biology), the cell body of a neuron
Carisoprodol or Soma, a muscle relaxant drug

Other uses
Soma (deity), a Hindu deity
Soma (drink), a ritual drink in Indo-Iranian cultures
Sōma (surname)
Soma (video game), a 2015 survival horror science fiction video game
System Open Market Account, a monetary policy tool used by the US Federal Reserve System
Soma cube, a solid dissection puzzle invented by Piet Hein
Soma San Diego, a concert venue in San Diego, California
System Open Market Account, a pool of financial assets owned & operated by the US Federal Reserve, held as an emergency store of liquidity and used as collateral against liabilities

See also
Malmheim og Soma, a borough of Sandnes, Norway
Parisoma (disambiguation)
Som (disambiguation)
Sōma (disambiguation)
Sōma clan, a Japanese clan of Mutsu Province from the 16th century
Soma 0.5mg, a 2018 album by Taconafide
SomaFM, a listener-supported, commercial-free Internet radio station
Somatherapy, also Soma or SOMA, a therapy designed by Brazilian Roberto Freire
Somatic (disambiguation)