"Lupus Doesn't Have Me, I Have Lupus": Using Patient-Centered Interviews to Understand Medication Nonadherence.

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common cause of kidney injury in systemic lupus erythematosus and associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Low medication adherence correlates with adverse clinical outcomes.

Methods: In a large, integrated health system at Kaiser Permanente East Bay Area, the authors identified mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) prescriptions for LN and collected patient demographics, medication adherence, and copay data.

Early nodal changes in the acute motor axonal neuropathy pattern of the Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The axonal patterns of Guillain-Barré syndrome, associated in many cases with antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection, are now recognized as frequent causes of acute flaccid paralysis in some regions of the world. This study examined ultrastructurally the PNS of seven cases of the acute motor axonal neuropathy form of Guillain-Barré syndrome. In this disorder previous studies of advanced cases have found Wallerian-like degeneration of motor fibres in the spinal roots and peripheral nerves, with little lymphocytic inflammation or demyelination.

Pathology of the motor-sensory axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The concept of a severe motor-sensory neuropathy of acute onset caused by an immune attack on the axon ("axonal" Guillain-Barré syndrome) has been advanced primarily based on electrodiagnostic and limited pathological data, but remains controversial. At autopsy some cases demonstrate unusually severe inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy. There are conflicting data about whether antecedent Campylobacter jejuni infection is associated with "axonal" Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Cutaneous innervation in sensory neuropathies: evaluation by skin biopsy.

Objective: To use punch skin biopsies to evaluate the loss of intra-epidermal nerve fibers in sensory neuropathies.

Background: Previous assessments of epidermal nerve fibers have been constrained by relatively insensitive staining techniques and variability in quantification.

Methods: Punch skin biopsies were performed on the heel and leg of HIV-seronegative controls, HIV-seropositive individuals without neuropathy, and patients with sensory neuropathies, including HIV-seronegative and HIV-positive individuals.

Guillain-Barré syndrome in northern China. The spectrum of neuropathological changes in clinically defined cases.

The pathology of the Guillain-Barré syndrome remains controversial, and autopsied cases available for study by contemporary techniques are uncommon. Large numbers of cases clinically diagnosed as Guillain-Barré syndrome occur in northern China. In this study we examined the neuropathological changes in 12 autopsied cases from Hebei Province, China.