1/78. Progressive ponto-bulbar palsy with deafness. A clinico-pathological study.Progressive ponto-bulbar palsy with deafness is a rare disease. It seems to be an abiotrophic process with autosomal recessive inheritance in most instances. Only one autopsy case had been briefly described (Lelong et al., 1941). The clinical features and the pathological findings of a new case are reported. The structures primarily involved are the grey matter of the brain stem and the spinal cord, including to some extent the optic tracts and most of the fiber tracts in the brain stem with exception of the pyramidal tracts.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/78. A case of multiple sebaceous epithelioma: analysis of microsatellite instability.Sebaceous gland tumor is a rare disease that is a sign of muir-torre syndrome, an autosomal, dominantly inherited genodermatosis characterized by the presence of at least one sebaceous gland tumor and a minimum of one internal malignancy. Recent studies have indicated that defective dna mismatch repair occurs in muir-torre syndrome. Cutaneous lesions may occur before diagnosis of the internal cancer. We describe a 64-year-old male patient with multiple sebaceous epitheliomas with no evident internal malignancy. microsatellite instability, determined by examining dinucleotide CA repeats at the microsatellite loci, was observed in DNA from one sebaceous epithelioma but not from the other two sebaceous epitheliomas or from one basal cell epithelioma with sebaceous differentiation, suggesting that this condition is unlikely to be due to germ-line mutation of mismatch repair genes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/78. Lymphocytic hypophysitis associated with dacryoadenitis: an autoimmunologically mediated syndrome.We report a rare case of lymphocytic hypophysitis followed by dacryoadenitis. Lymphocytic hypophysitis is a rare disease that can easily be mistaken for neoplastic proliferation. Because combination with rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis, or pernicious anemia is frequent, an immunological pathogenesis is likely.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/78. Cogan's syndrome: an oculo-audiovestibular disease.Typical Cogan's syndrome is a rare disease of young adults consisting of flares of interstitial keratitis and sudden onset of Meniere-like attacks (nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss). life-threatening aortic insufficiency develops in 10% of reported cases. Atypical Cogan's syndrome (audiovestibular dysfunction with other types of inflammatory eye disease) is associated with vasculitis in 20% of cases and has a less favourable prognosis than typical Cogan's syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/78. Transcriptional regulation of PDGF-A and TGF-beta by KTS WT1 deletion mutants and a mutant mimicking denys-drash syndrome.denys-drash syndrome (DDS) and frasier syndrome (FS) are rare diseases caused by the mutations of wilms tumor gene, WT1. The common denominator in these syndromes is a nephropathy which is manifested by early-onset proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome and end stage renal failure. Although these syndromes are genetic models of nephropathy and the mutations of WT1 gene are characterized in these patients the mechanism how mutations of WT1 gene affect the embryonic kidney adversely has not been elucidated. Recently, there was a report that FS is caused by mutations in the donor splice site of WT1. These mutations predicted loss of KTS isoform, which is one of the four splicing variants of WT1. In this study, two KTS deletion mutants of WT1 were made as well as a WT1 mutant mimicking a mutation found in a patient who had diffuse mesangial sclerosis, end stage renal failure and wilms tumor. Mutant embryonic kidney cell lines were established by transfection of 293 embryonic kidney cells with WT1 mutants. We investigated the transcription regulation of mutant WT1 among these cell lines using the reporter vectors containing PDGF-A and TGF-beta promoter sequence. Our results showed that the promoter activity of PDGF-A and TGF-beta, which are related to the progression of glomerular diseases, was modestly increased in the mutant cell mimicking the patent, while those activities were markedly increased in other two deletion mutant cell lines. This study demonstrated that KTS WT1 mutation found in DDS affected the cytokine expression adversely in vitro. From these results, we suggest that the alteration of KTS WT1 expression be responsible for the rapid progression of renal diseases in DDS and FS.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/78. adult type anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery: report of one case.Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA syndrome) is a rare disease. Most of the cases suffer from myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure or even death during the early infantile period, and thus are called "infantile type". We present one five-year-old girl with ALCAPA syndrome, adult type, who was initially suspected to be a case of atypical Kawasaki disease (KD) complicated with coronary arterial aneurysms. Due to persistent dilatation of the coronary artery after medical treatment for one year and a turbulent flow noticed between the left coronary artery (LCA) and the main pulmonary artery (MPA), cardiac catheterization was arranged. The diagnosis was established from the coronary cineangiography in spite of a direct connection between the aorta and LCA revealed from the echocardiogram. Thereafter open heart surgery was undertaken. diagnosis of ALCAPA syndrome can be made by echocardiogram, but this is not fully satisfactory. Selective coronary cineangiography remains the definitive diagnosis. Although the patients of adult type are more asymptomatic, surgical correction should be undertaken as soon as the diagnosis is established since a substantial risk is still present.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/78. Autoantibody reactivity in a case of Schnitzler's syndrome: evidence for a Th1-like response and detection of IgG2 anti-FcepsilonRIalpha antibodies.Schnitzler's syndrome is a rare disease characterized by chronic urticaria, monoclonal IgM, and clinical and laboratory signs of inflammation. In a subset of patients, the urticarial lesions cause pruritus. However, the pathophysiology of the disease and the biochemical basis of urticaria are not known. We describe a female patient with Schnitzler's syndrome suffering from chronic urticaria associated with pruritus. The patient's serum was found to contain IgG antibodies recognizing cellular components of the microvasculature. In particular, IgG3 antibodies directed against proteins (14-100 kD) expressed in cultured dermal microvascular endothelial cells and mast cells, were found by immunoblotting. Moreover, IgG2 antibodies specific for the alpha-chain of the FcepsilonRI were detectable. However, the autoantibodies did not mediate histamine release in mast cells or basophils. In patients with IgM paraproteinemia who did not have Schnitzler's syndrome, antibodies against endothelial/mast cells or FcepsilonRI were not detectable. In summary, we describe subclass-specific IgG reactivity against microvascular endothelial cells and mast cells indicating Th1 autoimmunity in a patient with Schnitzler's syndrome. Whether such autoantibodies are recurrently produced in patients with Schnitzler's syndrome and play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease remains to be determined.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/78. Two cases of orbital infarction syndrome.Orbital infarction syndrome is defined as ischemia of all intraorbital and intraocular structures. It is a rare disease caused by rich anastomotic vascularization of the orbit. It can occur secondary to different conditions, such as, acute perfusion failure, systemic vasculitis, orbital cellulitis and vasculitis. It results in orbital and ocular pain, total ophthalmoplegia, anterior and posterior segment ischemia, and acute blindness. We report here upon two cases of orbital infarction with similar presentations but with different causes, namely, mucormycosis and as a postoperative complication of intracranial aneurysm, discuss the possible mechanisms of orbital infarction, and present a review of the literature on the topic. The prompt recognition of clinical pictures and rapid diagnosis is essential for the early treatment of orbital infarction, since its progression is very rapid and it can be even fatal.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/78. A Japanese child with Senior-Loken syndrome.BACKGROUND: Senior-Loken syndrome is a rare disease that combines familial juvenile nephronophthisis with retinitis pigmentosa. We describe the clinical features of a Japanese patient with Senior-Loken syndrome emphasizing the importance of the ophthalmic findings in determining a correct diagnosis. CASE: A 6-year-old Japanese girl had anemia, mental retardation, and poor vision. OBSERVATIONS: Fundus examination and electroretinography revealed that the patient had retinitis pigmentosa. A subsequent percutaneous renal biopsy disclosed chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis. CONCLUSION: The ophthalmic findings in our patient led to the diagnosis of Senior-Loken syndrome. A careful ophthalmic examination was helpful in correctly diagnosing the syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/78. Atlantoaxial instability in Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome. Case report and review of the literature.Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen (DMC) syndrome is a very rare disease. Only 58 cases have been reported in the literature. The syndrome is probably an autosomal recessive inherited disorder, one that is characterized by mental retardation, the short-spine type of dwarfism, and skeletal abnormalities, especially of the spine, hands, and pelvis. Atlantoaxial instability-induced spinal cord compression is a serious and preventable complication. The purpose of this report is to describe the first case of DMC syndrome in which anterior transarticular atlantoaxial screw fixation was used to treat atlantoaxial instability. The authors report on a 17-year-old man with DMC syndrome and concomitant severe atlantoaxial instability. Computerized tomography scanning and magnetic resonance angiography demonstrated an irregular course of the vertebral artery (VA) at C-2, which made a posterior fixation procedure impossible. Additionally, transoral fusion was impossible because the patient was unable to open his mouth sufficiently. Therefore, the patient underwent anterior transarticular screw fixation. Follow-up examination 36 weeks after surgery showed solid fusion without implant failure. In conclusion, treatment of atlantoaxial instability in DMC syndrome must be considered. Specific care must be taken to determine the course of the VA. If posterior and transoral fusion are impossible, anterior transarticular atlantoaxial screw fixation might be the only alternative.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = rare disease (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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