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Biomedical subjects

A Tunon

Publications and source records attributed to A Tunon.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Clinical behavior of multiple sclerosis is modulated by the MHC class I-chain-related gene A.

It is well known that certain HLA class II alleles confer an increased risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent studies have suggested HLA class I as a region that may also contribute to the development of MS. In this study, we investigated the association between HLA-DR, HLA-B alleles, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-chain-related gene A (MICA) transmembrane (MICA-TM) polymorphisms and disease progression in 104 MS patients and 116 healthy controls. DR1 was found to be decreased in patients when compared with controls (p(c) = 0.012). Neither HLA-B nor HLA-DR alleles were found to be associated with MS susceptibility. Furthermore, the prevalence of MICA-A5 in patients with relapsing MS was 9% while the prevalence in progressive forms was 42% (p(c) = 0.0015). The extended haplotypes related to MICA-TM5 that were found in our population were DR7-MICA5-B64 (EH 64.1, delta(s) = 0.38), DR4-MICA5-B62 (EH 62.1, delta(s) = 0.28), and DR11-MICA5-B35 (EH35.1, delta(s) = 0.10), but none of them were found to be associated to MS susceptibility or disease progression. Our data could indicate a possible role of MICA-TM in MS prognosis.

Adult↗

[Charles Bonnet's syndrome].

Charles Bonnet's syndrome is characterized by the existence of visual hallucinations without psychiatric manifestations or cognitive disorder. Most patients are elderly people with severe visual problems. The objective of this paper is to describe the cases of three patients with this syndrome. The first is an 87 year old woman with bilateral cataract who had visual hallucinations seeing women and faces. The second is another 87 year old woman with advanced myopia and visions of people, animals and objects. The third is a 52 year old woman with atypical pigmentary retinopathy who suffered visual hallucinations of objects and animals in color. The neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies were not contributory. Treatment with neuroleptics or antiepileptics was effective only in one case. We conclude that it is important to know the syndrome and to differentiate it from psychiatric semiology. Deafferentation of the visual cortex could be the decisive factor in the occurrence of visual hallucinations.

Aged↗