Publications by authors named "Mari Kitada"

Although the birthrate greatly declined from the 1960s to the mid-1970s amongst many developed countries, the downturn has steadily been reversed by promoting women's rights and reviewing family policies in some European countries such as Sweden and France. The current total fertility rate in Sweden or France is approximately around 1.9 children per woman.

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Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis causes multifocal demyelination in the central nerve system. Although this disease generally responds well to steroid therapy, it is occasionally steroid-resistant, leading to poor outcomes. Serological markers of prognosis are currently unavailable.

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Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is characterized by optic neuritis or transverse myelitis with anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies (1). We herein present the case of a patient with NMOSD who also was affected with peripheral neuropathy. A 58-year-old woman developed gait disturbance and sensory impairment in the lower limbs.

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We report two patients with encephalitis associated with antibodies against NR1-NR2 heteromers of the NMDA receptor that showed dramatic improvement after immunomodulating therapies. A 38-year old woman (case 1) suddenly developed seizures and short term memory loss. Brain MRI appeared almost normal except for a small number of high intensity spots of white matter on T(2) weighted images.

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Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) mutation has been reported in Alexander disease. We report a 31-year-old woman suffering from Alexander disease with a V87L mutation in GFAP. She showed psychomotor regression and a history of seizures, in addition to pendular nystagmus, dysarthria, spastic gait, and bladder dysfunction.

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