Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.15.1 (ACE)
 18,300 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 62-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of tingling numbness in the trunk and upper extremities. She was well until 18 days earlier, when she began to feel tingling numbness on the ulnar side of the left arm. During the next two weeks it spread gradually over the trunk and ulnar side of the bilateral arms. She had also progressive difficulty in taking hold of objects. On neurological examination she was alert and cooperative with normal articulation. The neck was supple. The cranial nerves were intact. Superficial sensation was bilaterally hypesthetic in the distribution from the 7th cervical through 12th thoracic segments. Mild weakness was distally noted in the upper extremities. Deep tendon reflexes were reduced or absent without laterality. Plantar responses were bilaterally flexor. Coordination and gait were normal. Routine laboratory examinations including blood counts, blood chemistries and urinalysis were unremarkable. Serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) was slightly elevated. A lumbar puncture yielded clear, colorless cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) containing 22 white cells/mm3 and protein of 106 mg/dl. Conventional nerve conduction studies were normal. F-wave conduction studies revealed elevated F-ratios for the upper and lower extremities. Studies of short-latency somatosensory evoked potential showed mild prolongation of N13 recorded after stimulation of the right median nerve. An X-ray film of the spine was unremarkable except for mild narrowing of the C5-6 intervertebral disk space. Postcontrast magnetic resonance imaging of the spine with gadolinium-DTPA was unrevealing as well as a precontrast study. A myelogram disclosed enlarged lateral filling defects corresponding to cervical nerve roots from C6 through C8 bilaterally.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[A case of sarcoid polyradiculopathy with nerve roots swelling demonstrated by myelography]. 133 26

Disturbances of neurovascular function in the extremities may occur in patients with diabetes mellitus, exposure to toxic substances and chronic exposure to vibrating hand tools, as well as in Raynaud's phenomena. In these conditions symptoms of paraesthesia, finger numbness and blanching occur, so nerve conduction studies, vibration and temperature threshold measurements and neurovascular function tests are used for objective assessment of neurological dysfunction. The aim of the present study was to examine some factors which may confound quantitative neuro-vascular function measurements if used to assess neuropathy in diabetics. All subjects were consenting volunteers without exposure to known neurotoxic chemicals. The 5 groups were (a) healthy non-diabetic subjects not exposed to vibration (n = 10, mean age 52.3 yrs) (b) 2 insulin dependent and 8 non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects with a mean of 6 years treatment (n = 10, mean age 55.7 yrs) (c) maintenance employees exposed to high frequency pneumatic hand tools (n = 10, mean age 52.2 yrs) (d) subjects who were not diabetic or exposed to vibrating tools, but were being treated with the ACE-inhibitor enalapril 20 mg daily for hypertension (n = 5, mean age 54 yrs) (e) subjects who had smoked more than 10 cigarettes daily for at least 15 yrs (n = 10, mean age 51 yrs). Neurovascular tests included axon reflex responses measured by laser Doppler velocimeter evoked on the dorsum of the finger by iontophoresis of acetylcholine 16 mC in a circumferential chamber: cutaneous microvascular dilator responses to endothelial stimulation by iontophoretic application of the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine 16 mC and to direct nitrodilator sodium nitroprusside 16 mC. The skin temperature of the digits was held between 33 degrees and 34 degrees C during testing and dilator responses were measured as flux change by on-line computer analysis using 'Perisoft'. There was a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the neurovascular responses of both diabetics and vibration--exposed subjects to acetylcholine and, in the case of vibration-exposed subjects, to pilocarpine, but nitroprusside responses were not significantly different. Our findings of reductions in neurovascular responses in diabetics and in subjects exposed to higher frequency vibration is consistent with recent epidemiological findings. Furthermore, subjects treated with an ACE-inhibitor (enalapril) showed significant reduction in acetylcholine-evoked axon reflex responses, while the test group of smokers showed a significant reduction in their dilator response to pilocarpine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Confounding factors in non-invasive tests of neurovascular function in diabetes mellitus. 134 58

An 80-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of developed sense of constriction in the trunk and gradually progressive numbness and muscle weakness in the upper and lower extremities. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed increased cell count and protein level. Gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of spine showed the enhancement and swelling of bilateral nerve root in the cervical and lumbar segments. Although chest computed tomography showed neither bilateral hilar lymphoadenopathy nor lung lesions and serum angiotensin converting enzyme and lysozyme (ACE) were normal, tuberculin skin test was negative and cell count and CD4/CD8 elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Biopsy specimen of scalene lymph node showed noncaseating granuloma. The patient was treated with oral predonisolone, which improved her symptoms and abnormalities on MRI. It is important to consider neurosarcoidosis in the differential diagnosis of polyradiculopathy with swelling and gadolinium enhancement of spinal nerve roots.
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PMID:[A case of neurosarcoidosis with swelling and gadolinium enhancement of spinal nerve roots on magnetic resonance imaging]. 2182 7

The title "great imitator" refers to conditions which can cause varied manifestations and mimic many diseases. Lymphoma is worthy of this title. We describe three cases of lymphoma in which lymphoma mimicked other diseases causing neurological dysfunction, specifically sarcoidosis, vasculitis and infection respectively. Case 1 was a 66-year-old man with subacute progressive diplopia and gait disturbance and investigations revealing a supratentorial para-falcine soft tissue lesion, mid-thoracic cord enhancement and right axillary mass and an elevated serum ACE. Right axillary mass core biopsy was diagnostic of Burkitt lymphoma. Case 2 was a 50-year-old man with several weeks of constitutional symptoms and development of lower limb weakness and numbness, urinary retention and confusion while in hospital. MRI brain demonstrated multi-territory cerebral infarcts. Intravascular lymphoma was diagnosed on random skin biopsy. Case 3 was a 65-year-old man with several weeks of headache and diplopia on a background of previously treated Burkitt lymphoma. CSF analysis showed a lymphocytic pleocytosis and markedly low glucose with cytologic analysis negative for malignancy. Investigations for an infective cause were negative. FDG-PET demonstrated marked, disseminated spinal and cranial leptomeningeal disease and a multi-focal, intra-dural relapse of Burkitt lymphoma was diagnosed. The varied manifestations in our cases demonstrate the ability for lymphoma to mimic infective, inflammatory, granulomatous (including sarcoidosis) and neoplastic aetiologies. An elevated serum ACE appears insufficiently diagnostic to confirm sarcoidosis and tissue for histological examination should be sought whenever possible. When the diagnosis is uncertain, the possibility of this great imitator should be considered, especially for multi-focal disease.
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PMID:Lymphoma, a great imitator in neurology. 3309 72