Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0162671 (MELAS)
 587 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

MELAS (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) is a clinically devastating disease of children and young adults. The cause of the stroke-like episodes is not known. We have sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in archival paraffin-embedded material from two cases. In only one of these did the mitochondrial tRNA(Leu(UUR) gene contain the nucleotide 3243 A-to-G mutation that is most commonly responsible for MELAS. In this case, we determined the relative proportion of mutant:wild-type mtDNA in sections of the central nervous system and other tissues by PCR amplification, PalI digestion, DNA electrophoresis, and scanning densitometry of the ethidium bromide-stained gels. The technique allowed the proportion of mitochondria that contain the mutant genome to be compared with the histological findings in immediately adjacent sections of tissue. The mutant mtDNA was detectable in most tissues, the percentage of mtDNA ranging from barely detectable levels to 78 per cent. The relative amount of mutant mtDNA correlated poorly with the distribution of histological lesions, both within the central nervous system and in other tissues examined. The proportion was high in tissues such as liver, kidney, adrenal, and pancreas that appeared histologically normal. Relatively low levels were present in some regions of the central nervous system, such as the occipital lobe, which contained many of the characteristic infarct-like lesions. These observations do not support previous speculation that the distribution of these lesions reflects that of the defective mitochondria. The results emphasize the usefulness of the polymerase chain reaction in correlative histogenetic studies.
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PMID:Sequencing and quantitative assessment of mutant and wild-type mitochondrial DNA in paraffin sections from cases of MELAS. 832 63

A 34-year-old man with MELAS (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) showed chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO), which was improved by the administration of distigmine bromide. He exhibited generalized tonic clonic seizures at the age of 21, and mitochondrial DNA analysis showed the MELAS mutation. At the age of 34, he became akinetic mutism after nonconvulsive status epilepticus and needed enteral nutrition through a nasogasrtic tube. However, he developed abdominal distention and vomiting, and was diagnosed as CIPO, therefore tube feeding was stopped. Although the administration of domperidone, mosapride citrate, butyric acid bacteria, sodium picosulfate, prostaglandin F2 alpha, pantothenic acid, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, and so on, was ineffective, the administration of distigmine bromide improved his bowel motion disturbance and abnormal distention. The present case is the first MELAS patient with CIPO to be ameliorated by distigmine bromide, which might work acetylcholine receptor on the interstitial cells of Cajal.
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PMID:[Distigmine bromide improves chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in a case of MELAS]. 1751 Dec 91