Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030552 (paresis)
 5,831 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Organ failure secondary to fibrosis is the main cause of morbidity and death in patients with systemic sclerosis. Gastrointestinal tract dysmotility is a major visceral manifestation, clinically ranging from an asymptomatic form to severe paresis. Although the oesophagus is the most frequently affected part of the gastrointestinal tract, all other segments can be involved. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the histopathological changes of the gastric wall in a series of full-thickness biopsies from systemic sclerosis patients who underwent gastric surgery due to severe gastroesophageal involvement. Gastric biopsies were processed for light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The histological and ultrastructural observations revealed a generalized fibrosis affecting all the gastric wall layers. The most severe changes were observed in the muscularis mucosae and muscle layers. Wide areas of marked focal fibrosis with dense collagen bundles and elastic fibre deposition surrounding smooth muscle cells were found. Myofilaments and thickened dense bodies were severely disarranged or absent in most smooth muscle cells. Nerve fibres showed ultrastructural alterations, such as oedematous axoplasm and scarce cytoskeletal elements. Abundant elastic and collagen fibres enveloped nerve fibres, nerve endings and interstitial cells of Cajal, thereby separating them from smooth muscle cells and blood microvessels. This study provides evidence for a prominent fibrosis and severe ultrastructural alterations of smooth muscle cells and nerve fibres as the main histopathological hallmarks in the gastric wall of systemic sclerosis patients.
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PMID:The gastric wall in systemic sclerosis patients: a morphological study. 2107

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a chronic autoimmune disease, which has a broad range of clinical manifestations shared by systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, and rheumatoid arthritis. MCTD is featured with high serum titers of anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies and multiple system involvement. Its spinal cord involvement mainly manifests as transverse myelopathy (TM) and longitudinal extensive transverse myelopathy (LETM). Myelopathy in MCTD is extremely rare, and is usually characterized by serious neurological complications, such as paralysis or muscular paresis, sensory impairment, and smooth muscle dysfunction. Progressive clinical manifestations combined with laboratory examinations and magnetic resonance imaging examinations play important roles in the diagnosis of this disease. In order to prevent permanent neurological damage to the spinal cord, plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin can be performed in patients at the early disease stage. Early high-dose corticosteroids combined with cyclophosphamide, followed by low doses of immunosuppressors, can improve the long-term prognosis of patients. There are only nine global cases reported on MCTD associated with myelopathy at present. The death rate and disability rate of myelopathy in MCTD are extremely high. In this review, the pathomechanisms, clinical manifestations, auxiliary examination, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of myelopathy in MCTD were systematically elucidated.
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PMID:Myelopathy associated with mixed connective tissue disease: clinical manifestation, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. 3111 2