A MuSK-ellenes antitest pozitív myasthenia gravis kezelése = Treatment of anti-MuSK antibody positive myasthenia gravis

A szerzők egy 27 éves fiatal nő esetét ismertetik, aki döntően ocularis-bulbaris tüneteket okozó izomspecifikus kinázellenes antitest pozitív myasthenia gravisban szenvedett. Mind az intravénás edrophonium, mind a szájon át alkalmazott kis dózisú (4×30 mg/nap) pyridostigmin kolinerg mellékhatásokat, a mimikai és nyakizmok kellemetlen fasciculatióját, hypersalivatiót okozott. A beteg tartós, viszonylag nagy dózisú kortikoszteroidkezelésre (64 mg/nap metilprednisolon) jól reagált, azonban a napi adag 16 mg alá csökkentésekor a klinikai tünetek gyorsan kiújultak. Az azathioprinnel és methotrexattal történő immunszuppresszió hatása nem volt látványos. A plazmaferézis azonban minden alkalommal gyors javulást, csaknem teljes tünetmentességet váltott ki. A szerzők közleményükkel arra kívánják felhívni a figyelmet, hogy az izomspecifikus kinázellenes antitest pozitív myastheniás betegek kezelési protokollja eltér az izomspecifikus kinázellenes antitest negatív és acetilkolin receptor ellenes antitest pozitív betegek kezelésétől. A kórkép etiológiájában szerepet játszó antitest azonosítása már a betegség korai stádiumában lehetővé teszi a myastheniás betegek individuális optimális kezelési stratégiájának felállítását, a súlyos mellékhatások, mint például a kolinergiás krízisek megelőzését és a tünetek gyors javulását. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 1586–1589. | The authors report the case of a 27-year-old woman with muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase antibody positive myasthenia with predominantly ocular and bulbar symptoms. Both edrophonium and low dose (4×30 mg/day) pyridostigmin resulted in cholinergic side effects including fasciculation mainly in the facial and neck muscles, and excessive salivation. The patient responded well to a relatively high dose of chronic corticosteroid treatment (methyprednisolone 64mg/day), but the decrease of the corticosteroid dose below 16 mg/day induced exacerbation of the clinical symptoms. Immunosuppression with azathioprine and methotrexate failed to maintain the clinical improvement. However, plasma exchange was always very effective, and all clinical symptoms improved significantly. The authors conclude that patients with muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase antibody positive myasthenia gravis should have an individual treatment protocol differing from those used in patients who do not have this antibody but are positive for acetylcholine-receptor antibody. Identification of the pathogenic antibody in the early stage of myasthenia gravis may help to develop the optimal, individualized treatment strategy, to avoid severe side effects, and to achieve fast improvement. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 1586–1589

Psychiatric symptoms of patients with primary mitochondrial DNA disorders

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of our study was to assess psychiatric symptoms in patients with genetically proven primary mutation of the mitochondrial DNA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>19 adults with known mitochondrial mutation (MT) have been assessed with the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire 20-item Disability Index (HAQ-DI), the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-SF), the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the clinical version of the Structured Clinical Interview for the the DSM-IV (SCID-I and SCID-II) As control, 10 patients with hereditary sensorimotor neuropathy (HN), harboring the peripheral myelin protein-22 (PMP22) mutation were examined with the same tools.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The two groups did not differ significantly in gender, age or education. Mean HAQ-DI score was 0.82 in the MT (range: 0-1.625) and 0.71 in the HN group (range: 0-1.625). Level of disability between the two groups did not differ significantly (<it>p </it>= 0.6076). MT patients scored significantly higher on the BDI-SF and HDRS than HN patients (12.85 versus 4.40, <it>p </it>= 0.031, and 15.62 vs 7.30, <it>p </it>= 0.043, respectively). The Global Severity Index (GSI) of SCL-90-R also showed significant difference (1.44 vs 0.46, <it>p </it>= 0.013) as well as the subscales except for somatization. SCID-I interview yielded a variety of mood disorders in both groups. Eight MT patient (42%) had past, 6 (31%) had current, 5 (26%) had both past and current psychiatric diagnosis, yielding a lifetime prevalence of 9/19 (47%) in the MT group. In the HN group, 3 patients had both past and current diagnosis showing a lifetime prevalence of 3/10 (30%) in this group. SCID-II detected personality disorder in 8 MT cases (42%), yielding 3 avoidant, 2 obsessive-compulsive and 3 personality disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) diagnosis. No personality disorder was identified in the HN group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Clinicians should be aware of the high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in patients with mitochondrial mutation which has both etiologic and therapeutic relevance.</p

Ultrasonography of MADSAM neuropathy: Focal nerve enlargements at sites of existing and resolved conduction blocks

Using the emerging technique of peripheral nerve ultrasonography, multiple focal nerve swellings corresponding to sites of existing conduction blocks have been described in demyelinating polyneuropathies. We report two cases of multifocal acquired demyelinating sensory and motor neuropathy (MADSAM). In the first, multiple focal nerve enlargements were detected by ultrasound at sites of previous conduction blocks, well after complete clinical and electrophysiological resolution. In the second case, existing proximal conduction blocks could be localized by ultrasound. Our cases highlight the importance of nerve ultrasound in identifying conduction blocks and demonstrate that ultrasonographic morphological changes may outlast functional recovery in demyelinating neuropathies. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

Pompe-kór fenotípusvariációi, kórlefolyása és az enzimpótló kezelés eredményei: hazai tapasztalatok

A Pompe-kór kialakulásáért az alfa-glikozidáz enzim autoszomális recesszíven öröklődő hiánya, illetve kóros működése felelős. Célok és módszerek: A szerzők tanulmányukban 11, Pompe-kórral diagnosztizált magyar beteg klinikai fenotípusát elemezték, és nyolc esetben az enzimpótló kezelés melletti hosszmetszeti megfigyelés eredményeit értékelték. Eredmények: Egy betegben az első tünet már az újszülöttkorban jelentkezett, kezdeti cardiomyopathia és nagyon enyhe izomhypotonia formájában. A korai kezdet ellenére a progresszió nagyon lassú volt: négyéves korától részesült enzimpótló kezelésben, hatévesen motoros deficit már nem volt észlelhető. Egy beteg 2,5 évesen tünetmentes. A felnőttkori formákban 20 és 50 év között kezdődtek az első tünetek, a végtagövi izomgyengeség spektruma az enyhétől a súlyos érintettségig terjedt. Három esetben légzési elégtelenséget észleltek. Az enzimpótló terápiát a legtöbb esetben szignifikáns izomerő-fokozódás és a légzési működés javulása követte. Következtetések: Hazai Pompe-kóros betegekre a fenotípus széles variabilitása jellemző. Korai enzimpótló kezeléssel egy gyermek esetében teljes tünetmentességet, előrehaladott állapotú légzési elégtelenségben szenvedő betegnél az önálló légzés visszanyerését, és ezáltal jelentős életminőség-nyereséget lehetett elérni. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 1569–1575. | Pompe’s disease is an autosomal recessive disease caused by deficiency of acid-alpha-glucosidase. Aims and Methods: Authors analyzed the phenotype of 11 Hungarian patients with Pompe’s disease and evaluated clinical parameters and response to enzyme replacement therapy during a long-term follow-up in 8 patients. Results: One patient with atypical infantile form presented with cardiomyopathy and a very slow progression of motor deficits; after 2 years of enzyme replacement therapy no disability was present at the age 6 years. Another patient was asymptomatic at the age of 2.5 years. The adult onset form was characterized by slight to prominent limb-girdle myopathy with an age of onset between 20 and 50 years. In 3 of such cases respiratory insufficiency was also present. Conclusions: Hungarian patients with Pompe’s disease presented with a wide phenotypic variability ranging from atypical early childhood form with slowly progressive course to late-onset limb-girdle myopathy with variable courses. Enzyme replacement therapy resulted in significant improvement in motor and respiratory functions in most of the patients. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 1569–1575

Rare Variants in PLXNA4 and Parkinson's Disease.

Approximately 20% of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) report a positive family history. Yet, a large portion of causal and disease-modifying variants is still unknown. We used exome sequencing in two affected individuals from a family with late-onset familial PD followed by frequency assessment in 975 PD cases and 1014 ethnically-matched controls and linkage analysis to identify potentially causal variants. Based on the predicted penetrance and the frequencies, a variant in PLXNA4 proved to be the best candidate and PLXNA4 was screened for additional variants in 862 PD cases and 940 controls, revealing an excess of rare non-synonymous coding variants in PLXNA4 in individuals with PD. Although we cannot conclude that the variant in PLXNA4 is indeed the causative variant, these findings are interesting in the light of a surfacing role of axonal guidance mechanisms in neurodegenerative disorders but, at the same time, highlight the difficulties encountered in the study of rare variants identified by next-generation sequencing in diseases with autosomal dominant or complex patterns of inheritance

Examining the Development of Nature-Urban Routes in San José, Costa Rica

A clear contradiction exists between Costa Rica’s eco-friendly international image and its domestic urban realities. Sewage contaminates the rivers of its capital, and insufficient transportation infrastructure hinders movement through the city. This project aimed to assist Rutas Naturbanas, a non-profit foundation working to collectively resolve these issues, by examining how its proposed nature-urban routes could meet the needs and desires of the people of San José. To do so, we surveyed members of the public, interviewed professionals and activists, and reviewed research in relevant fields. We found that to ensure the most positive impacts, the routes should link residents and local organizations through engagement initiatives while balancing public safety with environmental protection