Coexistence of TDP-43 and C5b-9 staining of muscle in a patient with inclusion body myositis.

While sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most commonly acquired inflammatory myopathy above 50 years of age, its refractory response to conventional immunosuppressive treatments raises questions about its perplexing pathogenesis. Muscle biopsy typically reveals major histocompatibility complex I antigens and CD8+ T cell endomysial infiltrates invading non-necrotic muscle fibres early in the disease course with rimmed vacuoles, protein aggregates and amyloid inclusions later in the disease. Transactive response DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43), a protein implicated in transcriptional repression in neurodegenerative diseases, is also found in sIBM.

A Review of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Myasthenia Gravis.

This study aimed to review studies focused on the affective comorbidities associated with myasthenia gravis and to determine the extent to which neuromuscular treatment modalities address non-somatic aspects of autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Depression, anxiety, and emotional hyperactivity can aggravate myasthenia gravis, hinder accurate diagnoses, and presumably influence overall health-related quality of life. Studies were identified using PubMed Medline and Web of Science to assess the effects of psychological factors on myasthenia gravis, encompassing 49 years of research worldwide.

Surprising prevalence of unrecognized vitamin D3 deficiency in fall and winter months in neuromuscular clinics in Central Pennsylvania: a pilot study.

Objectives: The Harvard biomarker study published in October 2013 in Neurology journal showed a deficiency of vitamin D in 17.6% patients with Parkinson disease compared with 9.3% controls (adults without neurological symptoms).

Clinical features of late-onset pseudotumor cerebri fulfilling the modified dandy criteria.

Objectives: To characterize the clinical features of patients with pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) fulfilling the Modified Dandy Criteria who were diagnosed at or after the age of 44 years.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records between 1987 and 1999 of 14 patients at a single institution who were diagnosed as having PTC at 44 years of age or older according to the Modified Dandy Criteria: neurologic manifestations attributable to generalized increased intracranial pressure, elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure with normal cerebrospinal fluid composition demonstrated by lumbar puncture, and normal or small ventricles demonstrated by neuroimaging. We documented presenting symptoms and signs, significant medical conditions, and visual field follow-up.