Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0699790 (colon cancer)
 28,837 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Levamisole (LEV) has been used as an immunomodulating medication in patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers and as an adjuvant for chemotherapy. LEV, with or without 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), induces multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy (MIL). We identified 31 patients with LEV-induced MIL: 7 from our institution and 24 from a MEDLINE search. Twenty-one patients (67.7%) had been treated with a combination of LEV and 5-FU, while 10 patients had been treated with LEV alone. The onset of MIL was delayed in patients who took LEV and 5-FU in combination compared with the patients treated with LEV alone (11.7 +/- 3.7 vs. 4 +/- 2.5 wk, p < 0.001). Colon cancer (67.7%) was the most common indication for LEV administration. Gait ataxia occurred in 20 (64.5%) patients, and dysphagia was noted in 16 (51.6%) patients. Imaging studies revealed periventricular enhancement in 17 (54.8%) patients and supratentorial lesions in 16 (51.6%) patients. Cerebrospinal fluid studies showed lymphocytic pleocytosis in 10 of 21 (47.6%) patients. Early diagnosis of MIL and discontinuation of LEV is essential, yielding good recovery in most cases. Treatment with corticosteroids and/or intravenous immunoglobulin may be needed for this serious inflammatory encephalopathy. Twenty-nine patients exhibited improved clinical status and imaging findings after initial steroid or immunoglobulin treatment. Plasmapheresis may be an alternative regimen for patients with steroid resistance.
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PMID:Levamisole-induced multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy: clinical characteristics, outcome, and impact of treatment in 31 patients. 1686 45

Cerebellitis associated with herpes zoster has rarely been observed. We report here a 76-year-old man who had a history of anterior resection for sigmoid colon cancer and presented during chemotherapy with vesicular rash of the left ear, neuralgic pain in the postauricular area, and ataxic gait. After a while, he developed left peripheral facial palsy, fever, aggravated gait ataxia, and prolonged nausea and vomiting. The left facial nerve was enhanced on gadolinium-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging. We suspected that the patient had Ramsay Hunt syndrome accompanied by cerebellitis, which has not been reported previously. Over the course of several months, during which he was treated with acyclovir and corticosteroid, his symptoms improved significantly.
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PMID:A case of ramsay hunt syndrome complicated by cerebellitis. 2039 7