Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0002736 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
 19,048 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are usually confined to bed within a few years from the onset of the disease; however, bedsores are not known to develop even at its terminal stages. In this study, skin from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, neuromuscular diseases other than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and nonneurologic disorders has been examined by light and electron microscopy for morphologic changes in the connective tissue. On physical examination of the skin in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients, the stretched fold showed a delayed relaxation phase. On light microscopy, collagen bundles in the dermis were disoriented, separated, and fragmented, especially in the papillary dermis. Ultrastructurally, extensive deposits of amorphous, fine granular material in the ground substance compartment of the dermis were observed. The preceding cutaneous changes became more apparent as the disease advanced. We speculate that the deposition of this amorphous material may play the role of pressure absorber, thus preventing the occlusion of blood vessels.
J Am Acad Dermatol 1987 Dec
PMID:Skin changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: light and electron microscopic observations. 296 35

We investigated the biochemical and morphologic alteration in skin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. We found an obvious high expression of leukemia inhibitory factor and distinct epidermal hyperplasia in the skin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients compared with disease controls. The thickness and cell density, as well as the leukemia inhibitory factor immunostain density, of the epidermis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients correlated positively with duration of illness. The striking fact was the significant epidermal hyperplasia correlating with leukemia inhibitory factor expression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). In vitro experiments revealed that leukemia inhibitory factor stimulated keratinocyte proliferation in primary keratinocyte culture and induced epidermal hyperplasia in skin organ culture. These findings lead to the hypothesis that a high expression of leukemia inhibitory factor is closely associated with epidermal hyperplasia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.
J Invest Dermatol 2000 Sep
PMID:Leukemia inhibitory factor induces epidermal hyperplasia in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 1123 29