[Two cases of anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 antibody-positive dermatomyositis sine dermatitis with severe diffuse subcutaneous edema and dysphagia].

Case 1 involved a 68-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital because of muscle weakness, diffuse subcutaneous edema, dysphagia, and an elevated serum creatine kinase level that had worsened within the previous month. Case 2 involved a 78-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital because of muscle weakness, bilateral shoulder pain, diffuse subcutaneous edema, and dysphagia that had gradually worsened during the past 5 months. Both patients showed severe diffuse subcutaneous edema and dysphagia and underwent enteral tube feeding.

Serial Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Angiographic Findings of Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome Associated with Postpartum.

We report 2 cases of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) associated with postpartum. In case 1, a 26-year-old woman developed sudden-onset headache, nausea, and vomiting 1 h after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. In case 2, a 27-year-old woman developed generalized seizures 9 days after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery.

A case of type 1 facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) with restrictive ventilatory defect and congestive heart failure.

[Background] Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant muscle disease characterized by asymmetric involvement of muscles in the face, upper extremity, trunk, and lower extremity regions, with variable severity. It was recently reported that restrictive respiratory involvement is more frequent and severe than previously recognized, while cardiac dysfunction other than arrhythmia is still considered extremely rare in FSHD. [Case report] A 59-year-old man presenting with marked muscle atrophy in the trunk and asymmetrical muscle atrophy in the legs was hospitalized because of dyspnea and edema in the face and limbs.

Improvement of a decreased anti-oxidative activity by edaravone in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

Background: The free radical scavenger edaravone is a proven neuroprotective drug for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our objective was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of edaravone for oxidative stress and anti-oxidative activity in ALS patients.

Methods: Twenty-two ALS patients with a disease duration of 2 years, treated by edaravone, and 25 control participants were evaluated according to their clinical scores, including ALS functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R), and serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of oxidative stress dROM and anti-oxidative activity OXY.

Successful treatment with corticosteroids for refractory deterioration of cryptococcal meningitis with an increasing cryptococcal antigen titer.

We report a 55-year-old man with Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis who showed refractory deterioration twice with an increased cerebrospinal fluid cryptococcal antigen titer during the course of treatment. Although the initial deterioration was temporarily improved by placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, he experienced deterioration again. However, he improved after administration of systemic corticosteroids.

Effect of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy on anti-NT5C1A antibody-positive inclusion body myositis after successful treatment of hepatitis C: A case report.

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is the commonest idiopathic inflammatory myopathy of older persons. Pathophysiological mechanism of IBM remains unknown; however, an association of IBM with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and serum autoantibodies against skeletal muscle protein 5'-nucleotidase 1A (NT5C1A) has recently been reported. No effective treatment for IBM has yet been developed.

A case of seropositive autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy with diffuse esophageal spasm.

Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an immune-mediated disorder that leads to various autonomic failures associated with anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies (anti-gAChR-Abs). Diffuse esophageal spasm (DES) is an uncommon esophageal motility disorder. We herein report the case of a 68-year-old woman with DES as a partial symptom of AAG.

Spreading brain lesions in a familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with V180I mutation over 4 years.

Background: We report a female patient with familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with V180I mutation (fCJD with V180I), who was serially followed up with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) for up to four years.

Case Presentation: At 6 months after the onset, diffusion-weighted images (DWI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) of brain MRI revealed an increased signal intensity in the bilateral frontal, temporal, and parietal cerebral cortex with left dominancy except for the occipital lobe. However, her follow-up MRI at four years showed the high-signal regions spreading to the occipital cerebral cortex in DWI and FLAIR images, and bilateral frontal cerebral white matter in FLAIR images.

Neurological and pathological improvements of cerebral infarction in mice with platinum nanoparticles.

Ischemic stroke is a major, urgent neurologic disorder in which reactive oxygen species (ROS) are deeply involved in the detrimental effects. Platinum nanoparticle (nPt) species are a novel and strong scavenger of such ROS, so we examined the clinical and neuroprotective effects of nPts in mouse ischemic brain. Mice were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) for 60 min.