1/31. Histopathology and electron and immunofluorescence microscopy of gingivitis granulomatosa associated with glossitis and cheilitis in a case of Anderson-fabry disease.A 17-year-old white boy with signs, symptoms, and family history of angiokeratoma corporis diffusum universale, Anderson-fabry disease (AFD), developed recurrent and then persistent swelling of both lips, erythematous hyperplastic gingivae, and a pebbled tongue. Positive blood findings were raised serum IgE, decreased T-cell level, and increased B-cell level. Histopathology of the gingiva showed noncaseating granulomas with multinucleate giant cells containing Schaumann bodies and large plasma-cell infiltrates in which immunofluorescence demonstrated immune globulins of several classes. Electron microscopy and histochemistry demonstrated ceramide in the vasculature. No glycolipid was found in the macrophages or giant cells of the granulomas which, in contrast, resembled sarcoid reactions. plasma cells with Russell bodies and immune reaction-induced degranulation of mast cells were also identified. The pathogenesis of the oral findings possibly relates to altered immune reactivity associated with damage to the microvasculature analogous to that in melkersson-rosenthal syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/31. Fabry's disease. Report of the case diagnosed on the basis of routine ultrastructural examination of the renal biopsy.A 45-year-old man who developed proteinuria was diagnosed as having Fabry's disease on the basis of renal histological findings and prominent decreases in alpha-galactosidase A activity in blood leukocytes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/31. biopsy-proven cardiomyopathy in heterozygous Fabry's disease.A 23-year-old woman with heterozygous Fabry's disease who had acroparesthesia was admitted to hospital for precise examination of the disease before childbearing. She had no cardiac-related symptoms and no abnormality on physical examination. The alpha-galactosidase A activity in her leukocytes was present, but lower than normal. However, the endomyocardial biopsy showed specific changes for Fabry's disease. As Fabry's disease is a rare X-linked recessive inborn error of glycosphingolipid metabolism, heterozygous females are usually asymptomatic, but rarely can be affected as severely as hemizygous males. This is an isolated case of heterozygous Fabry's disease in a female in whom cardiac involvement was detected by endomyocardial biopsy, although she had no cardiac abnormality on physiological examinations. In conclusion, endomyocardial biopsy is useful for evaluation of the cardiac involvement of Fabry's disease even in an asymptomatic case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/31. angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Anderson-Fabry's disease): a case report.We report on a 14-year-old boy who presented with a 4-year history of acral pains and febrile episodes. On physical examination, numerous small reddish papules were present on his abdomen, located predominantly on the periumbelical region. Renal function was within normal limits. Ophthalmological examination revealed whorled opacities of the cornea (cornea verticillata) and dilated tortuous conjunctival vessels. Histopathological examination of one of the cutaneous papules showed several dilated blood vessels in the superficial dermis surrounded by collarettes of thickened rete ridges, consistent with a diagnosis of angiokeratoma. The electron-microscopic study of a skin specimen demonstrated the presence of dilated lysosomes with deposition of electron-dense bodies, some of which with laminated structure, in endothelial cells and fibroblasts. These findings were regarded as indicative of Fabry's disease. Subsequent biochemical analysis confirmed the presence of a alpha-galactosidase A deficiency in leukocytes. In conclusion, we described the clinical, histopathological and submicroscopic findings of a case of Fabry's disease, in which the combination of electron microscopic and biochemical approaches allowed the correct diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/31. Clinical features of and recent advances in therapy for fabry disease.fabry disease is an X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of alpha-galactosidase A. Intracellular accumulation of globotriaosylceramide, the glycolipid substrate of this enzyme, leads to severe painful neuropathy with progressive renal, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular dysfunction and early death. Men are predominantly affected but many female carriers have similar clinical involvement, including increased risk of stroke. Physical stigmata, such as angiokeratomas in skin and mucous membranes and characteristic benign corneal abnormalities, facilitate identification of fabry disease. The finding of a marked decreased activity of alpha-galactosidase A in white blood cells or cultured skin fibroblasts confirms the diagnosis. Treatment thus far has been symptomatic only. Etiology-based therapies are being developed that include enzyme replacement therapy, gene therapy, and substrate deprivation. Our recently completed double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of intravenous infusions of alpha-galactosidase A in patients with fabry disease demonstrated the safety and efficacy of this treatment. JAMA. 2000;284:2771-2775.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/31. Histopathologic findings of cornea verticillata in a woman heterozygous for Fabry's disease.PURPOSE: To report the histopathologic findings of the cornea verticillata observed in a woman who was heterozygous for Fabry's disease. METHOD: A 67-year-old woman was found to have a whorl-like corneal opacity on her visit to the Department of ophthalmology. Aichi Saiseikai Hospital. Her visit was because of a sudden loss of vision in her right eye owing to a central retinal artery occlusion in association with an ophthalmic artery occlusion. The patient died suddenly of an acute heart failure; with family consent, an autopsy was performed and the right eye was removed for histopathologic examination by light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Low levels of alpha-galactosidase in the leukocytes together with the corneal finding led to the diagnosis of heterozygous Fabry's disease. light microscopy revealed a 0.3- to 0.5-microm thick layer between the epithelial and Bowman's layers. Oil red O positive deposits were accumulated in the subepithelial layer, and the density varied in different regions. Electron microscopy showed that subepithelial layer differed in thickness, and the basal lamina reduplicated regionally. We were not able to determine the structure that correlated with the "ridge" in the central part of the cornea. CONCLUSION: The oil red O positive deposits and their variation in density in the subepithelial area of the cornea may have caused the characteristic whorl-like corneal opacity in this woman who was heterozygous for Fabry's disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/31. Anderson-fabry disease with cerebrovascular complications in two Italian families.We describe four patients with cerebrovascular complications from two unrelated Italian families with Anderson-fabry disease. Clinical examination, neuroimaging (MRI), biochemical and genetic analyses were carried out in all the patients. alpha-galactosidase A activity was detected by fluorimetric assay and genetic analysis was performed by dna sequencing. family 1. A male patient presented recurrent strokes when he was 34 years old, albuminuria and subsequently progressive renal failure to renal transplantation. family 2. A male patient, aged 32 years, had diplopia for a few days and then recurrent strokes with left spastic hemiparesis and internuclear ophthalmoplegia. A female patient, aged 48 years, presented L-dopa-responsive parkinsonism, and her sister had stroke when she was 55 years old. MRI was abnormal in all the patients and showed lacunar infarctions in the periventricular white matter, basal ganglia and pons. Lesions were detected by MRI even before stroke in a female patients. In patients with Anderson-fabry disease, stroke is a frequent complication, and may be the first threatening clinical manifestation. In young people with undefined stroke, even without signs of renal involvement, it is important to consider the diagnosis of Anderson-fabry disease and so to perform clinical examination and biochemical analyses. The pre-clinical stage of cerebrovascular involvement may be evaluable by MRI.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = white (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/31. Oligosymptomatic cornea verticillata in a heterozygote for fabry disease: a novel mutation in the alpha-galactosidase gene.BACKGROUND: fabry disease is an X-linked genetic disorder involving sphingolipid catabolism, which is caused by lysosomal alpha-galactosidase A deficiency. Ophthalmological findings such as corneal and lens opacities and conjunctival and retinal vessel abnormalities can be the only and/or the first recognizable symptoms, especially in heterozygous females. methods: We report on a 34-year-old German woman with cornea verticillata. The alpha-galactosidase A activity was determined in leukocytes using a fluorescence substrate, and the sequence analysis of the alpha galactosidase A gene was performed with genomic dna. RESULTS: The alpha-galactosidase A activity in leukocytes was significantly low (0.24 nmol/min/mg protein; normal range, 0.4-1.2), which is compatible with a heterozygote for fabry disease. The following sequence analysis revealed a heterozygous transition in position IVS5 2 T > C. Transition of thymine (T) to cytosine (C) affects the donor splice motive of exon 5 and most probably leads to an aberrant splicing procedure of the alpha-galactosidase A gene. CONCLUSION: Our case emphasizes the importance of ophthalmological findings in fabry disease. The subsequent biochemical and molecular analysis provides a secure diagnosis of female carriers of fabry disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 502.46937049066keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/31. chloroquine-induced phospholipidosis of the kidney mimicking Fabry's disease: case report and review of the literature.A 46-year-old female patient with sjogren's syndrome, hypertension, and stable chronic renal insufficiency (creatinine [CR], 1.9 to 2.1 mg/dL) had a progressive worsening of renal function (CR, 5.0 mg/dL) after 11 months of chloroquine therapy (155 mg/day; cumulative dose of approximately 51 g). light microscopy revealed nonspecific angionephrosclerosis. Electron microscopy showed accumulations of lamellated myelinoid material and occasionally also of curvilinear bodies, especially in the glomerular podocytes and to a lesser extent in vascular myothelial and endothelial cells. In the tubular system, mainly protein droplets were stored. Activity of alpha-galactosidase A was normal in isolated leukocytes (56 nmol/mg; range, 33.2 to 109 nmol/mg), ruling out Fabry's disease. Clinical, morphological, and biochemical findings were consistent with chloroquine-associated deterioration of renal function that improved considerably after discontinuation of chloroquine treatment. Adverse effects of chloroquine may aggravate preexisting renal disease. Electron microscopy is a worthwhile tool for establishing the correct diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/31. fabry disease: renal involvement limited to podocyte pathology and proteinuria in a septuagenarian cardiac variant. Pathologic and therapeutic implications.In men with classical fabry disease (alpha-galactosidase A [alpha-Gal A] deficiency), kidney failure occurs as early as the second decade of life. In contrast, men with the mild "cardiac variant" have late-onset cardiac involvement and proteinuria but usually do not have renal failure. To investigate the nature of renal involvement in the cardiac variant of fabry disease, the renal function and morphology were assessed in a 75-year-old affected man. He had mild congestive heart failure, a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, and hypercholesterolemia but lacked the classical fabry disease manifestations, including angiokeratoma, acroparesthesias, corneal and lenticular opacities, and hypohidrosis. At age 75 years, he had significant proteinuria, and mildly decreased renal function (serum creatinine, 1.8 mg/dL [159 micromol/L]), presumably secondary to hypertensive arteriosclerosis. He had about 4% residual alpha-Gal A activity in leukocytes, and mutation analysis identified the N215S missense mutation, the common lesion in cardiac variants. Histologic and ultrastructural studies of kidney tissue showed that lysosomal glycosphingolipid deposition was extensive in podocytes, rare in tubular epithelial cells, and absent in mesangial, interstitial, and vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells. This cardiac variant serves as an "experiment of nature" showing that the residual alpha-Gal A activity precludes glycosphingolipid deposition in the renal endothelial and other cells that lead to early renal failure in classically affected men, whereas marked podocyte accumulation is associated with proteinuria and possibly late-onset renal dysfunction. These findings have important implications for the renal effectiveness of enzyme replacement therapy in classically affected patients and for the aggressive treatment of proteinuria in fabry disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 251.23468524533keywords = leukocytes (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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