Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018133 (graft-versus-host disease)
 18,032 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is relatively common in allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients. Although lungs are the most common site, central nervous system (CNS) involvement is also observed in this setting. We have retrospectively studied 14 cases of CNS aspergillosis found in a cohort of 455 allogeneic SCT recipients (incidence 3%). All patients, except one, had experienced acute graft-versus-host disease treated with high-dose methylprednisolone, and eight patients (57%) had also received ATG. The median time to the diagnosis of CNS aspergillosis was 124 days (range 49-347 days) from SCT. Pulmonary aspergillosis had been diagnosed earlier in four patients (29%). The most common initial symptoms of CNS aspergillosis were convulsions, hemiparesis, and mental alteration. Neuroradiological studies revealed single (two patients) or multiple (seven patients) focal lesions of 0.2-9 cm in diameter. Despite clinical suspicion in many patients, a confirmed diagnosis of CNS aspergillosis was made during life in only one patient. A total of 12 patients (86%) received amphotericin B. Despite therapy, all patients died 0-27 days (median seven days) after the initial CNS symptoms. CNS aspergillosis is not uncommon in allogeneic SCT recipients. Clinical manifestations are usually dramatic and progress quickly. Earlier and more effective treatment of IA is needed to prevent dissemination of infection into the CNS.
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PMID:Central nervous system aspergillosis in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients. 1262 80

To investigate clinical characteristics of early central nervous system (CNS) complications after reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation (RIST), we reviewed the medical records of 232 patients who had undergone RIST for hematologic diseases at our institutions between September 1999 and June 2003. All patients had received purine analog-based preparative regimens. Stem cell sources comprised granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized blood from HLA-identical or 1 locus-mismatched related donors (n = 151), unrelated bone marrow (n = 44), or unrelated cord blood (n = 37). Graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis incorporated cyclosporine with or without methotrexate. Diagnosis of CNS complications was based on clinical, radiologic, and microbiological findings. CNS complications occurred in 18 patients (7.8%), with a median onset of 22 days, and were infectious (n = 1), metabolic (n = 15), or cerebrovascular (n = 2). Symptoms included seizures (n = 7), visual disturbance (n = 2), headache (n = 8), nausea (n = 8), vomiting (n = 6), impaired consciousness (n = 16), and hemiparesis (n = 3). Complications improved promptly in 10 patients, and 8 patients died without improvement within 30 days. Multivariate analysis with logistic regression identified umbilical cord blood transplantation as a significant risk factor for early CNS complications (odds ratio, 14.5; 95% confidence interval, 3.7-56.9; P <.0001). CNS complications are a significant problem after RIST, particularly with umbilical cord blood. Limbic encephalopathy is an unrecognized subtype of neurotoxicity after umbilical cord blood transplantation.
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PMID:Early central nervous system complications after reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation. 1528 34

A 46-year-old woman with Hodgkin's disease who underwent nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation developed cortical blindness, seizures, and left hemiparesis on day 100 while receiving tacrolimus (FK506) and prednisone for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple changes, mainly in the bilateral occipital lobes, suggesting FK506-related leukoencephalopathy. These abnormalities improved after discontinuation of FK506. However, 3 days after the episode, cerebral hemorrhage in the left occipital lobe with perforation to the left subdural space occurred. Although FK506-induced leukoencephalopathy with cerebral hemorrhage is considered the more severe form of such leukoencephalopathy, the patient's neurological symptoms almost completely resolved and radiographic findings improved after discontinuation of FK506, tapering of methylprednisolone, and initiation of mycophenolate mofetil. FK506-related leukoencephalopathy is a rare complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Although the symptoms usually subside after discontinuation of FK506, therapeutic intervention in many cases may result in severe complications, including GVHD and vascular disease. We consider it important to use immunosuppressive agents without vascular endothelial toxicity for preventing the development of fatal GVHD after discontinuation of FK506.
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PMID:Successful treatment of tacrolimus (FK506)-related leukoencephalopathy with cerebral hemorrhage in a patient who underwent nonmyeloablative stem cell transplantation. 1554 Sep 7

Two patients with a plausible diagnosis of central nervous system graft-versus-host disease (CNS-GVHD) are described. Both presented with neurological manifestations 6 and 18 months following allogeneic transplant with hemiparesis, seizure, encephalopathy and magnetic resonance findings of hyperintense white matter lesions on T-2 weighed images. Brain biopsy in one and autopsy in the other revealed profound perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates composed predominantly of T-lymphocytes that were of donor origin. Although an unequivocal diagnosis of CNS-GVHD is difficult to establish, the transplantation community should be aware of this controversial entity.
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PMID:Central nervous system graft-versus-host disease: report of two cases and literature review. 1792 40

An 18-year-old female with myelodysplastic syndrome underwent an allogeneic cord blood transplantation in May 2005. The conditioning regimen consisted of total body irradiation, cytarabine and cyclophosphamide. The day of the cord stem cell transfusion was counted as Day 0. For acute GVHD prophylaxis, cyclosporine A (CsA) and methotrexate were used. Engraftment was achieved on Day 30, acute GVHD grade II developed on Day 45 and treatment with methylprednisolone for acute GVHD was started. On Day 68 the patient had generalized seizures accompanied by loss of consciousness, hypertension and left hemiparesis, and was intubated. A cranial CT scan showed a mass effect on the right basal ganglia, and high signal intensities on the T2-weighted and FLAIR images of a MR examination were detected in the bilateral basal ganglia and posterior lobes, the findings of which were compatible with a brain tumor or infectious disease. Since an increased level of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values on the bilateral basal ganglia was noted, we suspected that vasogenic edema had caused the mass effect. She went into remission immediately after CsA treatment was discontinued. Therefore, this case was diagnosed as atypical reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) associated with CsA. CsA-induced encephalopathy presenting a mass effect in clinical imaging findings is very rare, and an ADC map may be useful for the diagnosis of RPLS.
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PMID:[Myelodysplastic syndrome with cyclosporine A-induced encephalopathy presenting with a mass effect on the right basal ganglia after cord blood transplantation]. 1723 73