Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0013362 (dysarthria)
 3,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 40-year-old man was hospitalized for tremor of the right upper limb, gait disturbance and dysarthria. His course of development had been normal until the age of 14, when difficulties in speaking and walking, and tremor of the upper limb became evident following an episode of fever. His symptoms have been gradually worsening for the past 25 years. His elder sister showed similar clinical symptoms and progressive course of illness. The patient showed no indication of mental retardation. Neurological examination showed dysarthria, slow dyskinetic movement of the tongue, dystonic posture of the left hand, tremor of irregular frequency of the right upper limb, diminished tendon reflex, positive Romberg's sign, diminished vibratory and position sense in the lower limbs and pyramidal signs. Cystometry indicated defective voiding of the bladder. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed bilateral atrophy of the putamina, globus pallidus, caudate nuclei and substantia nigra. MRI showed similar findings in her sister. By electrophysiological and pathological examination, disorders of other systems were evident, such as upper motor neurons, and sensory tract. GM1 and GM2 gangliosidosis appeared the most likely diagnosis, but were ruled out on the basis of the result of lysozomal enzyme assay and rectal biopsy. The present patient's condition may possibly be the result of an unknown metabolic disorder, or a new disease entity affecting various components of the nervous system.
 ...
PMID:[Juvenile-onset dystonia with bilateral atrophy of the basal ganglia on MRI]. 176 49

A 46-year-old man developed sudden dysarthria and atactic gait and was noted to be unable to get up even on the bed about one year prior to his death. By following several days, he started to have scanning speech, nausea, trancal ataxia and dysmetria in succession. The cerebro-spinal fluid yielded moderate pleocytosis. There were no sensory disturbance, pathological reflexes and Romberg's sign. Half a year later, submandibular tumor was noted. The biopsy showed metastatic small cell undifferentiated carcinoma, presumably of pulmonary origin, and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration was suspected. He died of bronchopneumonia, superimposed on lung cancer on February 25 in 1979. The necropsy showed a large tumor in the right lung which was histologically verified small cell undifferentiated carcinoma (so-called oat-cell carcinoma). The cerebellum disclosed diffuse cortical atrophy, chiefly of Purkinje cell type. Moderate demyelination with reparative gliosis and foamy macrophages was seen in the white matter, which was considered secondary to cortical devastation. The morphometric study on Purkinje cell loss showed interesting distribution of the lesions. The severely affected portions were the central lobe and culmen in the vermis, and the ala lobuli centralis and quadrangular lobe in the hemisphere, respectively. The lingula was strikingly spared. The finding was compared with that of other cerebellar disease in reviewing the literature.
 ...
PMID:[An autopsy case of carcinomatous subacute cerebellar degeneration--on distribution of cerebellar cortical lesions]. 609 6

We presented a rare care who had right frontal lobe infarction, with left side pseudoataxia, and the mechanism, causing pseudoataxia, was considered. The patient, a 51 year-old, righ-handed male, was admitted on August 9, 1980, complaining of left-side pseudoataxia. About p.m. 7:00, July 29, 1980, he suddenly noticed numbness of the left foot, and he found himself difficulty in standing in the next morning. He had a mild paresis and tactile-tactile of the left side including the face, which was rapidly improved. However, there was pseudoataxia of the left extremities, which had not been improved. On physical examination, dysarthria, aphasia, finger agnosia, difficulty in right left orientation or muscle weakness was not recognized, and there was no sensory disturbance except for slight impairment of stereognosis, two point discrimination and vibratory sense. Demonstrable impairment of tactiletactile from was observed in the left hand. Notable dysmetria, terminal tremor and dysdiadochokinesia were seen in the left limbs, which were remarkably worsened with eyes closed. However, tapping and line-drawing tests were normal. Babinski-Weil's test disclosed typical compass gait. There was marked swaying in Romberg position. Tandem gait was impossible with a tendency to decline the left. Deep reflexies were normal except for mildly hyperactive radial reflex in the left. Carotid and vertebral angiographies revealed neither evidence of vascular occlusion nor displacement of vessels CT scan demonstrated a low density area, which included the right inferior and middle frontal gyri, the head of the right caudate nucleus and a part of anterior crus of right internal capsule. There was enlargement of anterior horn of the right lateral ventricle. Caloric test, electronystagmography, eye tracking test or optokinetic nystagmus test disclosed no abnormalities. Vibration induced falling, which is the postural reaction to muscle vibration during standing (Ekuland, G., 1972), was not recognized when the left Achiles' tendon was stimulated. Pseudoataxia of this patient differed from the typical cerebellar or vestibular ataxia. From a review of the literatures concerning frontal pseudoataxia, almost all cases had no distinct cerebellar signs, and showed positive Romberg's sign. The impairment of tactile-tactile form and postural reaction to vibratory stimulation to the left leg, appeared in this case, could be hardly explained by the lesion of parietal lobe or deconnection syndrome. Sensory perception of parietal lobe and pyramidal motor system were thought to be almost normal in this case. Therefore, these findings should be due to impairment of integration center between sensory and motor systems. The pseudoataxia in frontal lesion seems to occur as the results of involvement of this center, in which caudate nucleus maybe has important role, but not as the results of disturbances in the front-ponto-cerebellar or front vestibular pathway.
 ...
PMID:[Frontal pseudoataxia, discussion on its mechanism (author's transl)]. 732 87

We report a 65-year-old woman with progressive dysarthria, dysphagia, weakness, and gait disturbance. The patient was well until 59 years of age (January of 1986) when she noted bilateral ptosis. One year later, she noted a gradual onset of difficulty in speech (articulation). Her speech slowly deteriorated and she noted weakness in chewing power and difficulty in swallowing in addition. In October 1987, she developed emotional incontinence. In January of 1988, she started to drag her left foot. She was admitted to our hospital on June 13 of 1988. On admission, she was alert and general physical examination was unremarkable. Neurologic examination revealed no dementia; her higher cerebral functions appeared intact. Ptosis was present bilaterally more on the right. She showed difficulty in opening her eyes on command; no contraction of the frontal muscles was seen upon attempted eye opening. There was a moderate limitation in the vertical gaze. Forced laughing and crying were seen. Facial muscles were moderately weak without apparent atrophy. The movement of the soft palate was very weak, and swallowing disturbance was more prominent for liquid staff. The tongue appeared somewhat small, however, no fasciculation was noted. Her step was small and the posture was stooped. Retropulsion was present, however, Romberg's sign was absent. No muscle atrophy was apparent, however, diffuse mile to moderate muscle weakness was noted in all four limbs. Cerebellar sign was absent. Deep tendon reflexes were exaggerated bilaterally, and Babinski sign was present on the left side. Sensation was intact. Routine blood tests were unremarkable as was a cranial CT scan. Her ptosis did not improve after 10 mg of edrophonium injection. CSF was also normal. She was transferred to another hospital but her neurological disabilities further progressed. In 1989, she was totally unable to move her limbs; she could only move her eyes; still consciousness was clear without dementia. She developed respiratory difficulty and expired on July 25, 1992. She was discussed in a neurological CPC, and the opinions were divided into ALS and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS). The chief discussant arrived at the conclusion that the patient might have had the pyramidal form of ALS. Postmorten examination revealed marked myelin pallor in the anterior as well as lateral corticospinal tracts. Pyramidal tract degeneration was prominent starting at the level of the cerebral peduncle and was continued to be seen until the level of lumbar cord. The number of anterior horn cells showed only slight decrease in the cervical level, however, it was normal in the lumbar cord.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:[A 65-year-old woman with dysarthria, dysphagia, weakness, and gait disturbance]. 777 10

We report a 63-year-old man with progressive gait disturbance and dysarthria. The patient was apparently well until the age of 62 (February, 1990) when he noted unsteadiness of gait. Two months later, dysarthria appeared. He was admitted to Juntendo Izunagaoka Hospital on April 23, 1990. Neurologic examination revealed a mentally sound man with normal higher cerebral functions. Cranial nerves were unremarkable except for scanning speech. His gait was ataxic with positive Romberg sign. No motor weakness was noted, however, he had hypotonia and cerebellar ataxia. Deep tendon reflexes were retained and the plantar response was flexor. Pain, touch and vibration senses were diminished in the distal parts of the lower extremities. Laboratory examination revealed a 2.5 cm mass in the left lung field. Cranial MRI revealed a small T1-low and T2-high signal intensity lesion in the left temporal lobe. Abdominal CT scan revealed multiple low density lesions in the liver. His subsequent course was complicated by progressive deterioration in his gait and loss of deep tendon reflexes. He expired on November 24, 1990. The patient was discussed in the neurological CPC and the chief discussant arrived at the conclusion that the patient had anti-Hu associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis and sensory neuropathy. Some other participants thought that the patient had carcinomatous cerebellar degeneration. Postmortem examination revealed a 4x4 cm mass lesion involving the left S4-S5 segments. Histologic examination of the tumor was small cell carcinoma. Many metastatic foci were found in the liver. The cerebral hemispheres were unremarkable except for a small wedge-shaped tissue defect in the left temporal lobe which appeared to have been caused by old head trauma which the patient had received. The cerebellar vermis showed slight enlargement of cortical sulci, however, the cerebellar hemispheres appeared unremarkable. Upon histologic examination, marked loss of Purkinje cells was noted, particularly in the cerebellar anterior lobe. The dentate nucleus showed slight cell loss with increase in fat granule cells. The inferior olive was normal. The histologic characteristics were consistent with the pathologic diagnosis of carcinomatous cerebellar degeneration. No evidence of limbic encephalitis was seen. The peripheral nerve was not examined.
 ...
PMID:[A 63 year-old man with progressive gait disturbance and dysarthria]. 888 38

The patient was a 72-year-old man who had a history of subtotal gastrectomy for gastric ulcer at age of 37 years. He had no familial history of hereditary disorders. In 1980 he noticed mild ataxic gait which exaggerated while he closed eyes. The symptoms increased gradually, and four years later he noticed hypoesthesia of his soles. In 1983 he was admitted to the National Center Hospital for Mental, Nervous and Muscular Disorders for the first time. Neurological examination revealed dysarthria, ataxic gait, disturbance of coordination to a slight degree, and muscle strength of the upper and lower limbs were in normal range. Mild hypoesthesia of pain and temperature sensation, and marked decrease of deep sensation and vibration of the lower extremities were demonstrated. Romberg sign was positive. EMG studies revealed low amplitude of action potential and normal motor nerve conduction velocity. Biopsy of the sural nerve showed marked decrease of both large and small myelinated fibers. In 1998 he was admitted second time for the further examination. Laboratory examination including routine blood examination, blood chemistry including CRP, TPHA, vitamin B1, B2, B12, A, E, K, hexosaminidase A in leucocyte were in normal range. CSF was normal. Genetic studies including SCA 1, 2, 3, 6, DRPLA, CMT1A, CMTX 1 were all negative. MCV of lower limbs was in normal range, though SCV was not evoked in the upper and lower limbs. MRI studies showed mild atrophy of the bilateral lobulus of the cerebellum which was not so much changed in the last 5 years. The clinical symptoms revealed dominant posterior column disturbance, ataxia and sensory neuropathy. These combination was not described in the previous literature, and this case may be a new variant of the spinocerebellar degeneration.
 ...
PMID:[A case with posterior column ataxia associated with cerebellar ataxia and sensory neuropathy]. 1061 59

We report a 70-year-old woman with bilateral optic atrophy, external ophthalmoplegia, bilateral blepharoptosis, and sensory ataxic neuropathy. She had a visual disturbance since childhood. She had dysarthria and gait disturbance at 28 years old. She had bilateral blepharoptosis, marked gait disturbance and dysphagia at 50. On neurological examination, external ophthalmoplegia, bilateral blepharoptosis, mild weakness and muscular atrophy of promixal muscles, hyporeflexia, positive Romberg sign, glove and stocking type sensory disturbance including hypesthesia, hypalgesia, and bathyhypesthesia were found. She did not show pigmented retinopathy, cognitive dysfunctions, hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, Hoffman reflex nor Babinski sign. She did not show increased lactic acid nor pyruvic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid but mild increase of pyruvic acid (1.0 mg/dl) in her serum. The conduction velocity and amplitude of CMAP of tibial nerve was 37.4 m/sec and 2.9 mV, respectively. The SNAP of ulner and sural nerve were not evoked. Brain MRI showed no pathological findings. Muscle biopsy from the biceps muscle showed many ragged-red fibers (5.3%) and some fibers with decreased or absent COX activity. Sural nerve biopsy showed a marked loss of large myelinated fibers with thin myelinated fibers, and onion-bulb formation. The clinical findings of our patient is similar to that of SANDO (the triad of sensory ataxic neuropathy, dysarthria, and ophthalmoparesis), however, large mtDNA deletion reported by Fadic in patients with SANDO was not found in our patient. It might be possible that her mtDNA deletion is small or point mutation is existed.
 ...
PMID:[A case of mitochondrial myopathy with external ophthalmoplegia and ataxic neuropathy]. 1472 65

A 29-year-old man, with no significant past medical history, was in his usual state of health until the afternoon of admission. The patient was seated at work eating lunch when he suddenly noticed that his vision became blurry. He covered his right eye and had no visual difficulty but noted blurry vision upon covering his left eye. At this point, the patient tried to stand up, but had difficulty walking and noticed he was "falling toward his left." Facial asymmetry when smiling was also appreciated. The patient denied any alteration in mental status, confusion, antecedent or current headaches, aura, chest pains, or shortness of breath. He was not taking any prescribed medications and had no known allergies. The patient denied any prior hospitalization or surgery. He denied use of tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs, and worked as a maintenance worker in a hotel. His family history is remarkable for his father who died of pancreatic cancer in his 50s and his mother who died of an unknown heart condition in her late 40s. Vital signs on presentation to the emergency department included temperature of 97.6 degrees F; respiratory rate of 18 per minute; pulse of 68 per minute; blood pressure of 124/84 mmHg; pulse oximetry of 99% on ambient air. His body mass index was 24 and he was complaining of no pain. The patient had no carotid bruits and no significant jugular venous distention. Cardiovascular exam revealed a regular rate and rhythm with no murmurs. Neurological exam revealed left-sided facial weakness, dysarthria, and preserved visual fields. He was able to furrow his brow. Gait deviation to the left was present, and Romberg sign was negative. Deep tendon reflexes were 2+ throughout, and no other focal neurological deficit was present. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of stroke. Electrocardiogram, fasting lipid profile, computed tomography (CT) scan of head, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of head and neck, and transthoracic echo with bubble study were ordered. The initial head CT did not reveal bleeding. He was started on aspirin (ASA). On the second hospital day, the symptoms improved with resolution of dysarthria. His ataxia had also improved. Fasting lipid profile revealed mildly elevated low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol. His head MRI revealed an acute right thalamic stroke. Echocardiography was significant only for a patent foramen ovale (PFO) with transit of agitated saline "bubbles" from right atrium to left heart within three cardiac cycles (Figure). Doppler ultrasound of extremities revealed no evidence of deep venous thrombosis. A complete resolution of symptoms occurred by the third hospital day. The patient was discharged on full dose aspirin and a statin and was referred for consideration of enrollment in a PFO closure versus medical management trial.
 ...
PMID:Clinical case of the month. A 29-year-old man with acute onset blurry vision, weakness, and gait abnormality. Stroke. 2010 23

Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) is a newly described condition with onset in adulthood, characterized by progressive balance impairment and sensory disturbances in the lower limbs, which can severely affect patients' quality of life. Its pathogenesis remains obscure and the diagnosis challenging. We described four patients complaining of slowly progressive gait unbalance and sensory disturbances at the feet followed, after a period ranging 2-6 years, by cerebellar dysfunction. All patients showed gait and limb ataxia, positive Romberg sign, cerebellar dysarthria, gaze-evoked nystagmus, absent deep tendon reflexes, and impaired vibratory sensation. Nerve conduction studies revealed axonal sensory neuropathy, brain magnetic resonance imaging showed cerebellar atrophy, and otoneurological investigation demonstrated bilateral vestibular areflexia with impaired vestibulo-ocular reflexes. The diagnosis of CANVAS should be suspected on clinical ground based on homogeneous course of symptoms and signs, and addressed by video-oculography eye movement recording.
 ...
PMID:Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, and vestibular areflexia syndrome: a slowly progressive disorder with stereotypical presentation. 2656 12

BACKGROUND Autoimmune cerebellar ataxia can be paraneoplastic in nature or can occasionally present without evidence of an ongoing malignancy. The detection of specific autoantibodies has been statistically linked to different etiologies. CASE REPORT A 55-year-old African-American woman with hypertension and a past history of morbid obesity and uncontrolled diabetes status post gastric bypass four years prior to the visit (with significantly improved body mass index and hemoglobin A1c controlled at the time of the clinical encounter) presented to the office complaining of gradual onset of unsteadiness and recurrent falls for the past three years, as well as difficulties coordinating routine daily activities. The neurologic exam showed moderate dysarthria and ataxic gait with bilateral dysmetria and positive Romberg test. Routine laboratory test results were only remarkable for a mild elevation of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and most laboratory and imaging tests for common causes of ataxia failed to demonstrate an etiology. Upon further workup, evidence of anti-voltage-gated calcium channel and anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody was demonstrated. She was then treated with intravenous immunoglobulins with remarkable clinical improvement. CONCLUSIONS We present a case of antibody-mediated ataxia not associated with malignancy. While ataxia is rarely related to autoantibodies, in such cases it is critical to understand the etiology of this disabling condition in order to treat it correctly. Clinicians should be aware of the possible association with specific autoantibodies and the necessity to rule out an occult malignancy in such cases.
 ...
PMID:A Rare Case of Cerebellar Ataxia Due to Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel and Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Autoantibodies. 2917 43


1