Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004134 (ataxia)
 15,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or Devic's syndrome, is an autoimmune central nervous system demyelinating disorder primarily affecting the spinal cord and the optic nerves. It is characterized by the presence of NMO antibodies, alongside clinical and radiological findings. NMO and NMO-spectrum disorders (NMO-SD) have been reported in autoimmune disorders, and are infrequently described as a paraneoplastic syndrome with cancers of lung, breast, and carcinoid tumors of the thyroid. We report a patient who presented with severe vomiting, blurring of vision, vertigo, diplopia, left hemiparesis and hemisensory loss and ataxia. She was found to have a longitudinally-extensive demyelinating lesion extending from the medulla to the upper cervical spinal cord on MRI. Her gastric endoscopy revealed carcinoid tumor of the stomach, and classic paraneoplastic antibodies in the serum were negative. She had extremely high serum gastrin level and high titer of NMO IgG autoantibody. The patient made an excellent recovery with tumor resection and immunotherapy, with both clinical and radiological improvement. On rare instances, NMO or NMO-SD may present as a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome associated with carcinoid tumor of the stomach.
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PMID:Paraneoplastic neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder associated with stomach carcinoid tumor. 2495 81

Controversy exists regarding a potential link between exposure to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) and central nervous system demyelinating diseases. Here, we present a case of seronegative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) following exposure to HBV. A 28-year-old man developed painful eye movements 11 days after exposure to HBV. Within 24 h, he experienced vision loss, ascending numbness, and ataxia. T-spine MRI showed a cord lesion spanning T6-T9. Brain MRI showed bilateral optic nerve contrast enhancement and a right-sided internal capsule lesion. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was normal, including negative oligoclonal bands and normal IgG index. AQP4-IgG serology was negative. The patient's visual symptoms improved after treatment with steroids and plasma exchange. He received plasma exchange weekly for 4 weeks with decreased numbness and tingling as well as improved coordination. Treatment with mycophenolate mofetil was started, and the patient remains clinically stable with near resolution of his prior symptoms. Neuromyelitis optica is characterized by optic neuritis and/or longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. While our patient tested seronegative for AQP4-IgG (which remains negative in 10-50% of NMOSD cases, despite testing with the most sensitive assays available), he did meet NMOSD diagnostic criteria. In a literature review, we found 7 cases of NMOSD onset or relapse associated with exposure to various vaccines, but to our knowledge this represents the first published report of NMOSD onset following exposure to HBV. While causality between vaccination and CNS demyelinating disease remains elusive, it is important to report these cases to help develop safer vaccinations and provoke further inquiry into the pathogenesis of NMOSD.
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PMID:Seronegative Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder following Exposure to Hepatitis B Vaccination. 2596 83

Diagonistic apraxia is a corpus callosal disconnection syndrome. Callosal lesions in Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) have been reported, but callosal disconnection syndrome are rare. A 48-year-old woman was treated for fever and a cough before hospitalization. Her fever abated immediately, but she had balance problems in walking and standing. She also had slurred speech. On neurological examination, she had diagonistic apraxia. Her left hand moved in an uncoordinated way when she moved her right hand: changing her clothes for example or using a knife and fork. She had to instruct her left hand to stop. She had dysarthria and her gait was wide-based. She also had many callosal disconnection syndrome symptoms such as alexia of left visual field, left ear extinction, crossed optic ataxia. Using FLAIR and DWI MRI, a mixture of low and high signals, a so-called "marbled pattern," was seen in the corpus callosum. Since the patient was positive for anti-aquaporin-4 antibody, she was diagnosed with NMOSD. After two courses of steroid pulse therapy, the symptoms improved. Here we report diagonistic apraxia and other symptoms of callosal disconnection syndrome in anti-AQP4-positive NMOSD.
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PMID:Diagonistic Apraxia: A Unique Case of Corpus Callosal Disconnection Syndrome and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder. 3014 71

Pathological yawning is rarely observed in cerebral or spinal diseases. A 67-year-old woman was admitted with a seven-day progressive hemisyndrome with left-sided limb ataxia and hypesthesia. The patient yawned with a high frequency, partially in salve-like episodes. MRI showed a cervical myelitis over more than three vertebral segments up to the lower medulla and Aquaporin-4-antibodies were positive (diagnostic criteria for a Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder were fulfilled). Under treatment with methylprednisolone, followed by plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption, clinical symptoms were regressive and the frequency of yawning completely normalized. When observing pathological yawning, even in the absence of other cerebral or brainstem symptoms, one should be aware of NMOSD as a possible cause.
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PMID:The Big Yawning: Pathological Yawning as a Symptom of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders. 3091 29

Complications involving the central nervous system (CNS) occur in 9-14% of patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), including stroke-like episodes, demyelination, encephalitis, and nonspecific neurological symptoms. Here we report a case of multiple sclerosis (MS) like relapsing remitting encephalomyelitis following allogeneic HSCT, which did not respond to disease modifying therapies (DMTs) and "domino" autologous HSCT. A 53-year-old male was treated with allogeneic HSCT for lymphoid blast transformation of chronic myeloid leukemia. Ten months later he presented with confusion, slurred speech, left sided facial weakness and ataxia. A magnetic resonance imaging brain scan showed multiple enhancing tumefactive lesions. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies were negative. After extensive investigations for infections, autoimmune disorders and recurrence of malignancy, he underwent brain biopsy, which showed a macrophage rich lesion with severe myelin loss but axonal preservation indicating a demyelinating pathology. Although his symptoms improved with corticosteroids, he relapsed five months later. In the absence of any systemic features suggesting graft versus host disease (GvHD), his presentation was thought to be compatible with MS. The illness followed an aggressive course that did not respond to glatiramer acetate and natalizumab. He was therefore treated with "domino" autologous HSCT, which also failed to induce long-term remission. Despite further treatment with ocrelizumab, he died of progressive disease. An autopsy limited to the examination of brain revealed multifocal destructive leukoencephalopathy with severe myelin and axonal loss. Immunohistochemistry showed macrophage located in the perivascular area, with no T or B lymphocytes. The appearance was unusual and not typical for chronic MS plaques. Reported cases of CNS demyelination following allogeneic HSCT are very limited in the literature, especially in relation to histopathological examination. Although the clinical disease course of our patient following allogeneic HSCT resembled an "MS-like" relapsing remitting encephalomyelitis, the autopsy examination did not show any evidence of active inflammation. The impact of DMTs and HSCT on the histological appearance of "MS-like" CNS pathologies is unknown. Therefore, reporting this and similar cases will improve our awareness and understanding of underlying disease mechanisms.
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PMID:A Case of Multiple Sclerosis-Like Relapsing Remitting Encephalomyelitis Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and a Review of the Published Literature. 3243 94