An Autopsy Case of Edwardsiella tarda Meningoencephalitis

A 62-year-old male with a history of alcohol abuse was admitted with a headache and rapidly progressing altered consciousness that led to coma over several hours. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures were positive for Edwardsiella tarda. Despite prompt treatment initiation, the patient died on the third hospital day. Autopsy showed meningitis of the entire cerebrum with ventriculitis, and alcoholic fatty liver was observed. Clinicians should be cognizant of E. tarda meningoencephalitis, a rare presentation which can be associated with poor outcomes in patients with excessive alcohol consumption and alcoholic liver disease

Status Epilepticus as the Initial Presentation of Intravascular Lymphoma

Intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is a rare disease form of malignant lymphoma, and it is characterised by the selective growth of lymphoma cells within the lumina of vessels. Identification of this disease at an early stage is difficult because of non-specific clinical symptoms and neuroradiological findings. Most reported IVL cases are diagnosed at post-mortem following autopsy. We report the case of a patient who presented with status epilepticus (SE) as the initial manifestation of IVL. Despite the administration of anti-convulsant agents and general care the patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly after admission, culminating in death due to respiratory failure and heart failure 21 days after the onset of symptoms. Post-mortem examination revealed IVL in the brain and multiple organs. Epileptic seizures often appear during the clinical course of IVL; however, they occur most frequently at advanced stages. Diagnosis of IVL that first presents with SE is of clinical importance because the treatment and prognosis of acute SE arising from IVL are different from those of SE originating from other causes

Elevated Adiponectin Antibody Levels in Sera of Patients with Atherosclerosis- related Coronary Artery Disease, Cerebral Infarction and Diabetes Mellitus

Adiponectin secreted from the adipocytes plays pleiotrop‐ ic, anti-atherosclerotic roles, such as enhancement of insulin secretion and an increase in energy expenditure. The measurement of levels of circulating adiponectin is useful to evaluate the progression of atherosclerosis- related diseases, such as coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebral infarction (CI) and diabetes mellitus (DM). We examined the serum antibody levels against recombinant adiponectin protein via the amplified luminescent proxim‐ ity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay (AlphaLISA) method. The results revealed that the anti‐ body levels were significantly higher in patients with CAD, CI and type 2 DM, than in healthy donors. Receiver operating curve analysis showed that the sensitivity was in a range of 41–48% for CAD, CI and DM. Thus, the serum anti-adiponectin antibody levels could be a common marker for atherosclerosis-related diseases