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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We describe the full history and postmortem findings in one of the first identified cases of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with stroke-like episodes (MELAS). To clarify diagnostic criteria, we analyzed 69 reported cases. The syndrome should be suspected by the following three invariant criteria: (1) stroke-like episode before age 40 yr; (2) encephalopathy characterized by seizures, dementia, or both; and (3) lactic acidosis, ragged-red fibers (RRF), or both. The diagnosis may be considered secure if there are also at least two of the following: normal early development, recurrent headache, or recurrent vomiting. There are incomplete syndromes in relatives of patients with the full syndrome and incomplete syndromes might also be encountered in sporadic cases. Some MELAS patients have features of the Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) or myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF), but none had the full KSS syndrome. In partial or confusing cases, analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may point to the correct diagnosis; however, not all patients with clinical MELAS have had the typical mtDNA point mutation and some patients with the mutation have clinical syndromes other than MELAS.
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PMID:Melas: an original case and clinical criteria for diagnosis. 142

Since the time of Liveing and Gowers in the nineteenth century, migraine has been thought to be inherited, although family history has been widely studied, nearly all the reports are not scientifically based and studies on twins have never shown 100% concordance in monozygotic (MZ) pairs, indicating that migraine cannot be inherited by a single gene. Furthermore, the criteria for a polygenic trait are not fulfilled by migraine patients. The only two syndromes with a strong genetic basis of inheritance are familial hemiplegic migraine and migraine occurring in Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy with Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-like episodes (MELAS). It is the predisposition to headache that is likely to be inherited; this is supported by the induction of migraine-like headaches with either m-chlorophenyl-piperazine (m-CPP) or nitroglycerin in normal subjects with a positive family history for migraine.
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PMID:Migraine and heredity. 149 12

A case of 25-year-old woman with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) was reported. She had short stature, episodic vomiting with headache, several episodes with homonymous hemianopsia, progressive intellectual decline, generalized convulsion, muscular atrophy, sensory disturbance on the left side of the body, and primary amenorrhea. Lactate, pyruvate and the lactate to pyruvate ratio were elevated in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Muscle biopsy revealed ragged-red fibers. On electron microscopy there were subsarcolemmal aggregations of abnormal mitochondria with proliferation of crista and inclusions. Activities of the respiratory chain enzymes of the muscle mitochondria were normal. She showed a failure of GH response to arginine and levodopa and delayed response of serum GH to growth hormone releasing factor (GRF). She also showed decreased gonadotropin levels and delayed response of the hormone to LH-RH. In this case, a dysfunction of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis may be related to the short stature and primary amenorrhea. It is suggested that the hypothalamo-pituitary hypofunction may be one of the characteristic features in MELAS.
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PMID:[Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) associated with hypothalamo-pituitary hypofunction--a case report]. 206 Feb 43

A 12 year old girl with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke like episodes (MELAS) is reported. After a normal childhood, at 9 years of age she developed generalized and hemilateralized seizures. Posteriorly, these episodes became more frequent and were accompanied by headache, homonimous hemianopsia, ataxia, vomiting, photophobia, left hemiparesis, slurred speech and even convulsive status. Laboratory tests evidenced lactic acidosis, brain lucencies at CT Scan and ragged skeletal muscle fibers at muscle biopsy.
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PMID:[Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and features of cerebrovascular disorders]. 207 86

A 12-year-old boy with corticosteroid-responsive mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is described. His mother proved to have an asymptomatic mitochondrial myopathy on examination of a muscle biopsy specimen. Three weeks after the onset of vomiting, headache, ataxia and visual and speech impairment, he presented with a background of somatic growth retardation, deafness and school failure. Examination revealed disorientation, dysphasia, dyspraxia, optic atrophy, hemianopia, hemiparesis and sensory inattention. A cranial computed tomographic scan disclosed a large, low-density area, which was consistent with infarction, in the left posterior hemisphere and marked calcification of the basal ganglia bilaterally. Within two weeks of the commencement of corticosteroid treatment, the neurological dysfunction resolved. Attempts to decrease the dosage of dexamethasone caused an exacerbation of symptoms repeatedly. Two weeks after ceasing corticosteroid therapy, the patient developed a serious neurological relapse and a new, large, low-density area, which resembled an infarction, in the right posterior hemisphere on a computed tomographic scan. The reintroduction of corticosteroid therapy again resulted in the rapid resolution of all symptoms. It became evident that the patient had an exquisitely sensitive corticosteroid dependency, whereby a reduction in the dexamethasone dosage of even 0.25 mg a day caused confusion, headaches and increasing lactic acidaemia. Although it is difficult to assess the impact of various therapies in MELAS because of the episodic natural course of the disease, this remarkable corticosteroid responsiveness also has been noted in four previously reported patients with MELAS syndrome; therefore, it would seem reasonable to suggest that corticosteroid therapy now should be considered as standard treatment for this condition. However, corticosteroid therapy in other forms of mitochondrial disorders still awaits careful evaluation.
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PMID:Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with corticosteroid dependence. 273 98

The case of 12 years-old boy with seizures, headache, severe vomit and focal neurological signs is reported. These episodes had several recurrences and regression with little neurologic deficits. In the investigation it was found: lactic acidosis; stroke like episodes and calcification in the basal ganglia on computerized axial tomography; ragged red fibers on muscle biopsy and decreased of cytochrome C oxidase in the muscle tissue. A revision about mitochondrial disorders with involvement of the central nervous system and muscle is made, with emphasis on diagnosis and recognition of MELAS.
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PMID:[MELAS (mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes): report of a case]. 283 Aug 68

We describe three patients with mitochondrial myopathy, dementia, loss of vision and hearing, seizure disorder with myoclonus, intermittent headaches of a vascular type, visual hallucinations, cerebellar dysfunction, and lactic acidosis. Muscle biopsies in all patients and liver biopsy in one revealed abnormal mitochondria. The disorder may be due to a deficiency of mitochondrial NADH-CoQ dehydrogenase.
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PMID:Mitochondrial myopathy and encephalopathy: three cases--a deficiency of NADH-CoQ dehydrogenase? 641 59

The A 3243 G mutation of the mitochondrial tRNA(Leu) gene was found to segregate with maternally inherited diabetes mellitus, sensorineural deafness, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or renal failure in a large pedigree of 35 affected members in four generations. Presenting symptoms almost consistently involved deafness and recurrent attacks of migraine-like headaches, but the clinical course of the disease varied within and across generations. The A 3243 G mutation has been previously reported in association with the mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episode syndrome (MELAS) and with diabetes mellitus and deafness. To our knowledge, however, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is not a common feature in people with the A 3243 G mutation and renal failure has not been hitherto reported in association with this mutation. The present observation gives additional support to the variable clinical expression of mtDNA mutations in humans.
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PMID:Point mutation of the mitochondrial tRNA(Leu) gene (A 3243 G) in maternally inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, and sensorineural deafness. 747 62

Mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is one of the mitochondrial encephalomyopathies that has distinct clinical features including stroke-like episodes with migraine-like headache, nausea, vomiting, encephalopathy and lactic acidosis. We report a 27-year-old woman who presented with partial seizure, stroke-like episodes including hemiparesis, hemianopia and hemihypethesia, sensorineural hearing loss, migraine-like headache, and lactic acidosis. Brain computed tomographic scan showed encephalomalacia in the right parieto-occipital area and recent hypodensity in the left temporoparieto-occipital area with cortical atrophy. Muscle biopsy revealed ragged-red fibers and paracrystaline inclusions in the mitochondria. Genetic study revealed an A to G point mutation at nucleotide position (np) 3243 of mitochondrial DNA. External ophthalmoplegia and ptosis were also found during two exaggerated episodes in this patient. Therefore, the overlapping syndrome of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia in the MELAS syndrome is considered in this case. Furthermore, we also found carnitine deficiency in this patient and she was responsive well to steroid therapy. Muscle biopsy also revealed excessive lipid droplets deposits. Therefore, the carnitine deficiency may occur in MELAS syndrome with the A to G point mutation at np 3243. We recommend the steroid or carnitine supplement therapy be applied to the MELAS syndrome with carnitine deficiency.
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PMID:CPEO and carnitine deficiency overlapping in MELAS syndrome. 748 81

A 16-year-old female presented with clinical, morphologic and molecular features of mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). Her early development was normal. Starting from the age of 14 years, she experienced recurrent episodes of headaches, with vomiting, seizures, transient right hemiparesis and decreased visual acuity. Computed tomographic brain scans revealed calcification in the bilateral basal ganglia. Biopsied specimens from her left biceps brachii and rectus femoris muscles revealed ragged-red fibers and strong succinate dehydrogenase-reactive blood vessels. Electron microscopy revealed paracrystalline inclusions in muscle mitochondria. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from blood, hair follicles and muscle specimens showed an A to G point mutation at nucleotide position 3,243 in the transfer RNA(Leu(UUR)). The proportion of mutant mtDNA in the patient's blood was 43%, in hair follicles 62% and in muscle 82%. The patient was followed up for 4 years and had progressive mental deterioration and died of an episode of status epilepticus. This patient and 5 other MELAS patients reported in Taiwan are compared.
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PMID:Heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA mutation in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes. 761 32


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