Simple plasma exchange reduced autoantibody to von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease in a Japanese man with ticlopidine-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Orimo.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
BACKGROUND: Unilateral spatial neglect has been rarely reported in patients with AD, although they often have right and left asymmetry of temporoparietal dysfunction. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if patients with AD would show unilateral spatial neglect in the line bisection test, and to reveal the relationship between their neglect and the area of cerebral dysfunction. METHOD: Thirty-two patients with mild to moderate AD and 32 age-matched healthy control subjects underwent an extensive line bisection test. SPECT was also obtained for the patients. RESULTS: Rightward bisection errors exceeded the normal range in 25% of patients with AD. They exhibited greater rightward errors for the longer lines in the left hemispace than in the right hemispace, and with the right hand than with the left hand; this corresponds to the characteristics of neglect seen after right hemisphere lesions. All patients who bisected 200 mm lines with errors over 10 mm showed disproportionate lowering of performance IQ and asymmetric right hemisphere hypoperfusion, especially in the temporoparietal region. Seventy-five percent of the patients performed normally in the center presentation but erred slightly toward the body midline in the right and left hemispaces. CONCLUSION: Left unilateral spatial neglect in mild to moderate AD may be rather common if tested with the line bisection test. Rightward errors over 10 mm suggest right temporoparietal dysfunction. In AD, three or more bisections of 200 mm lines in the center presentation are recommended for detection of neglect. Patients with AD but without neglect may have difficulty in shifting attention into the peripheral sector of the egocentric space.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
OBJECTIVES: (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is clinically used to estimate local myocardial sympathetic nerve damage in some forms of heart disease, autonomic nerve disturbance in diabetic neuropathy, and disturbance of the autonomic nervous system in neurodegenerative disease. In the present study, examinations were performed to clarify (1) the proportion of cardiac sympathetic nerve disturbance in Parkinson's disease, (2) the usefulness of (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy to detect sympathetic nerve disturbances compared with autonomic function tests, (3) cardiac function in patients who have a decreased MIBG uptake in (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy, (4) the usefulness of (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy to differentiate Parkinson's disease from the other neurological diseases mimicking it. METHODS: (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy was performed, together with autonomic function tests and cardiac examinations in 46 patients with Parkinson's disease and 25 patients with vascular parkinsonism, essential tremor, or multiple system atrophy. RESULTS: In an anterior image study, the average count per pixel in heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratio decreased in 80% of the patients with Parkinson's disease in the early phase and 84% in the late phase. The mean H/M ratio in Parkinson's disease was significantly lower than that in controls and the other diseases. The H/M ratio tended to decrease with the disease progression. In almost half of the patients in Hoehn and Yahr stage I, the H/M ratio was already decreased. The sympathetic skin response in upper and lower limbs, head up tilt test, and coefficient of variation of R-R interval were abnormal in 17%, 31%, 30%, and 17% of the patients, respectively. All the patients with abnormal autonomic functions were in Hoehn and Yahr stage III, IV, or V. Echocardiography showed normal left ventricular function. Twenty four hour Holter electrocardiography detected no serious arrhythmias except for one patient with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. CONCLUSION: (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy might detect early disturbances of the sympathetic nervous system in Parkinson's disease and might give useful diagnostic information to differentiate vascular parkinsonism, essential tremor, and multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease.
We report an autopsy case of multiple system atrophy (MSA) presenting with rapid progression of autonomic disturbance. He was admitted to our hospital because of gait disturbance and dysarthria. The patient was a Japanese man, who first noticed gait disturbance and dysarthria at age 58, followed by syncope 3 months later. He developed urinary incontinence and frequency of urination 8 months after the disease onset. His gait disturbance, dysarthria, syncope, and urinary symptoms progressed, and he was admitted to the department of neurology 1 year after the onset of the disease. He was clinically diagnosed as having MSA and was followed in the outpatient office. He deteriorated rapidly and was readmitted to the department of neurology 19 months after the onset of the disease. Physical examination showed orthostatic hypotension. Neurological examination revealed nystagmus, dysarthria of cerebellar type, increased deep tendon reflexes, bilateral positive Babinski signs, ataxic and spastic gait, mild right hypesthesia and hypalgesia, impotence, constipation, and urinary incontinence. Routine blood examination showed slight anemia, elevated BUN, GOT, and blood sugar. Electrocardiography revealed sinus tachycardia and chest rentogenogram showed cardiac enlargement. Brain MRI showed atrophy of cerebellum and pons, and lacunae in basal ganglia. Autonomic function tests revealed abnormal in head-up tilt test, and CVR-R in May and November 1995. However 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy showed normal uptake of MIBG in May 1995 and decreased uptake in November 1995. He deteriorated rapidly and died in May 1996. Autopsy findings revealed not only prominent olivopontocerebellar and slight striatonigral lesions, but also autonomic lesions with massive appearance of glial cytoplasmic inclusions. He was pathologically verified as having MSA. In the present patient, autonomic nervous system, especially cardiac sympathetic nerve, deteriorated rapidly, which might result in short duration of the illness.
We report a 72-year-old autopsied case of purulent meningitis associated with ocular flutter. She was admitted to our hospital because of disturbances of consciousness and fever. Physical examination revealed fever, tachycardia, and tachypnea. Neurological examination showed disturbance of consciousness (Japan Coma Scale 30), agitated state, anisocoria, sluggish and fixed reaction of pupils to light, and nuchal stiffness. Routine blood examination showed leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, positive CRP, and elevated myocardial enzymes. Cerebrospinal fluid revealed pleocytosis with predominant leukocytes, elevated protein, and decreased glucose (22% of blood glucose), and Streptococcus pneumoniae was proved in culture. Brain CT scan revealed no abnormal findings. Electrocardiography showed tachycardia, left axis deviation, and elevated ST segment in aVF, and V3-V6. Ultrasonic echocardiography revealed slight hypokinesis of the left anterior wall, septum, and apex. She was diagnosed as having purulent meningitis, myocarditis, probable encephalitis. Thus, antibiotics, acycrovir, glycerol, and aspirin were administrated. But her respiration deteriorated and ocular flutter was observed for 15 minutes. After that, She required artificial ventilation and eventually died after 29 hours the admission to our hospital. Pathological examination revealed leukocyte accumulation in the arachnoid space of the derebral surface, especially frontal and parietal lobes. Uncal herniation was not observed. The brainstem and cerebellum were histologically within normal limits. These findings suggest that ocular flutter observed in this patient was caused by functional damage of the brainstem.
In 12 patients with the clinical characteristics of Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome including an autosomal recessive inheritance, congenital cataracts, mental retardation, cerebellar ataxia and progressive muscle weakness, the most common pathological finding was rimmed vacuole formation comprising from 0.1% to 10% of fibers in their muscle biopsy samples. The nuclear changes varied from condensed chromatin granules to vacuolation with amorphous inclusions which were predominantly seen in younger patients with prominent rimmed vacuoles, suggesting a close relationship between nuclear change and rimmed vacuole formation. From the severe destructive changes in nuclei, we speculated that the nuclear changes in Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome play a primary role in muscle degeneration resulting in myofibrillar disorganization and rimmed vacuole formation. In 2 patients, the TUNEL method demonstrated scattered myonuclei with fragmented DNA, but "ladder formation" was not found, probably because of the small numbers of nuclei with fragmented DNA. Nuclear degeneration with focal myofibrillar degeneration seen in these muscle samples suggests that the apoptotic process may occur in muscle disorders, especially in diseases with rimmed vacuole formation.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A 36-year-old man was admitted to Kanto Chuo Hospital because of hearing loss and dysphagia. On admission physical and neurological findings revealed obesity, hypertension, nystagmus, right hearing loss, dysarthria, and dysphagia. Routine laboratory findings disclosed leukocytosis, liver dysfunction, hypercholesterolemia, proteinuria, and glucosuria. Immunological, coagulopathic, and endocrinological findings, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and brain CT scan were unremarkable. He was diagnosed as brainstem infarction, and then conservative therapies were begun. Seven hours after admission, he suddenly fell into coma and apneutic state, requiring artificial ventilation. The next day he was fully conscious, but could'nt make any voluntary movements except for vertical eye movements, suggesting locked-in syndrome (LIS). Brain MRI showed infarction of pons, medulla oblongata, and right cerebellum. Cerebral angiography revealed hypoplasia of bilateral vertebral arteries, a persistence of right primitive trigeminal artery (PTA), and retrograde blood flow of basilar artery from the PTA. Then he made a rapid recovery, and on 80th day he was discharged only with right hearing disturbance and mild left cerebellar sign. We speculated that hypoplasia of the bilateral vertebral arteries caused the brain infarction, and that back flow of the basilar artery from the PTA, in part, contributed to the early recovery from the LIS.
To investigate the nature of the inflammatory response in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), we analyzed mononuclear cells in muscle sections obtained from 18 FSHD patients and 8 controls. Monoclonal antibodies reactive for T cells, T cell subsets, B cells, and NK cells were used for cell typing. Macrophages were identified by acid phosphatase reaction. The localization of perforin, granzyme A, MHC-I and -II, dystrophin, and alpha-actinin antigens was also examined. We found that all FSHD patients, both familiar and sporadic cases, had greater amounts of mononuclear cellular infiltrates in muscle than controls, in whose specimens only few extra vascular mononuclear cells were counted. Seventy-two percent (13 of 18) of the patients had more than 50 inflammatory mononuclear cells per 1000 muscle fibers, and 33% (6 of 18) patients had numerous inflammatory cells exceeding 600 per 1000 muscle fibers (1835 +/- 482 SE). Nonnecrotic fibers invaded by mononuclear cells with either T8+, perforin+, or granzyme A+ were not observed in FSHD, while a few degenerating fibers were superficially invaded by T cells and macrophages. Occasional T cells were observed moving through the blood vessel wall. The increased number of necrotic fibers was paralleled by an increased number of inflammatory cells (r = 0.783, P = 0.0001). Genetic analysis, using the probes p13E-11, pFR-1, D4S139, and D4S163, was done in 6 patients (3 familiar, 3 sporadic) who had numerous inflammatory infiltrates. These 6 patients had small (< 28 kb) EcoRI fragments associated with the disease, and the disease was linked to 4q35. These results suggest that, in chromosome 4-linked FSHD: (1) inflammatory changes in muscle are a common histological feature; (2) mononuclear cellular infiltrates may enhance muscle fiber damage; but (3) T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity directed against muscle fibers is unlikely. We speculate that the immune effector mechanism in FSHD is different from that in previously reported inflammatory myopathies and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Perforin (PF) and granzyme A (GA) are candidates suspected of being cytolytic proteins of the granules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) cells. We analysed PF and GA in muscles from patients with inflammatory myopathies. Five cases of polymyositis (PM), two cases of inclusion body myositis (IBM), and five cases of dermatomyositis (DM) were studied immunohistochemically using anti-PF and GA antibodies raised against each synthetic peptide of human PF and mouse GA, together with a panel of monoclonal antibodies reactive for lymphocyte subsets. In PM and IBM, PF positive cells were colocalized with GA positive cells and occasionally invaded into the non-necrotic muscle fibres. The percentage of PF positive cells among the endomysial CD8 positive cell population was 9.9% (PM) and 12.5% (IBM), and the majority of the endomysial CD8 positive cells were alpha/beta T cells. In contrast, in DM, both PF and GA positive cells were very few in all cases. Only few inflammatory cells were CD16+ or CD57+ NK cells among these diseases. Our results suggest that PF and GA are secreted mainly from alpha/beta T cells, and may play a key role in muscle fibre damage in at least some PM and IBM, but not in DM.
A 68-year-old male had been followed up under a clinical diagnosis of parkinsonism for 5 years. He was admitted to the Kanto Teishin Hospital with a chief complaint of difficulty in swallowing. Physical findings were almost normal. Neurological examination showed parkinsonism including mask-like face, positive Myerson's sign, mild rigidity, marche à petit pas, and retropulsion, and pyramidal signs including mild right hemiparesis, generalized hyperreflexia and positive Babinski's sign on both sides. Routine blood analysis was normal, except for elevated LDH level. He was found to have cardiac enlargement (CTR 58.7%) in chest roentogenogram, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), right bundle branch block and myocardial ischemia in electrocardiogram, as well as LVH, asymmetrical septal hypertrophy, mild MR and AR in echocardiogram. A T2 weighted brain MRI disclosed multiple high signal intensities in the basal ganglia and deep white matter regions which suggest parkinsonism resulting from multiple cerebral infarctions. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination revealed esophageal and gastric carcinomas. He died of ventricular fibrillation 14 days after an operation of these carcinomas. Autopsy showed severe cardiomegaly (800 g) and vacuolar change of myocardium with lamellar body on electron microscopic examination. A definite biochemical diagnosis of Fabry's disease was made by demonstration of deposition of a large amount of trihexosylceramide in the myocardium, kidney, and liver. This case presented parkinsonism and cardiomegaly without typical signs of Fabry's disease. Therefore, Fabry's disease should be considered as one of possible underlying diseases, when a patient has cardiomegaly or ischemic cerebrovascular disease without risk factors, even if he has no typical signs of Fabry's disease.
We describe acute mononeuropathy multiplex in a patient with chronic ulcerative colitis. The symptoms of neuropathy were well correlated with the disease activity of colitis. Both electrophysiological study and sural nerve biopsy revealed axonal degeneration. Mononeuropathy multiplex may be an extraintestinal manifestation of ulcerative colitis.