Very-Late-Onset Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder in a Patient with Breast Cancer and Parkinson Disease.

Anti-aquaporin-4 (anti-AQP-4) antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare autoimmune disorder resulting in severe, recurrent optic neuritis, transverse myelitis, brain stem syndrome, and other types of neurological involvement. Its median age of onset has been reported to be around 40 years. We report herein a case of very-late-onset NMOSD (76 years of age) and try to promote its awareness as a type of neurological deterioration in elder patients.

Relations of clinical symptoms with dopamine transporter imaging in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the relations of clinical symptoms with nigrostriatal neuron loss in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We examined the severity of motor symptoms and freezing of gait (FOG), falls and overactive bladder (OAB) in PD patients and their relations with striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-two untreated PD patients (14 men and 18 women with a mean age of 71.

Relationships of drooling with motor symptoms and dopamine transporter imaging in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the relationships of drooling with motor symptoms and nigrostriatal neuron loss in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We therefore examined the relationships of drooling with motor symptoms and striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding measured by [123-Iodine]-fluoropropyl-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenylnortropane) dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography(I-FP-CIT SPECT).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-five untreated PD patients (14 men and 21 women with a mean age of 71.

Incidence of anti-NMDAR encephalitis in patients undergoing resection of ovarian teratoma in a single institution.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of anti-NMDAR encephalitis in patients in whom a teratoma was removed. As far as we know, there has been no report on the incidence of anti-NMDAR encephalitis in patients in whom a teratoma was removed.

Methods: This study was a single-institutional observational study.

Sub-classification of apraxia of speech in patients with cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Some studies have hypothesized that primary progressive apraxia of speech (ppAOS) consists of heterogeneous symptoms that can be sub-classified; however, no study has classified stroke-induced AOS (sAOS) and ppAOS according to common criteria. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the symptoms and relevant brain regions associated with sAOS and ppAOS for sub-classification. Participants included 8 patients with sAOS following lesions in the left precentral gyrus and/or underlying white matter, and 3 patients with ppAOS.

Non-motor Comorbidity of Myasthenia Gravis: Myasthenia Gravis as a Systemic Immunological Disorder Involving Non-motor Systems.

To explore non-motor comorbidities of myasthenia gravis (MG), we present two cases of thymoma-associated MG patients. Alopecia, pure red cell aplasia, and thymoma- associated multiorgan autoimmunity were observed in Case 1, and alopecia, thrombocytopenia, hypogammaglobulinemia and nephrotic syndrome were observed in Case 2. In both cases, autoreactive T lymphocytes inappropriately stimulated by thymus tissue may have played key roles in generating the various autoimmune-associated symptoms.

Fatal Meningoencephalomyelitis due to the Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus: The First Detailed Neurological Observation in a Japanese Patient from the Central Part of Hokkaido Island.

To date, the only instance of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Japan was reported from the southern part of Hokkaido Island in 1993; no other cases have been reported since then. We herein report the first case of TBE reported in the central part of Hokkaido Island, and describe the fatal clinical course of a patient who presented with meningoencephalomyelitis, which partly involved the nerve root. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patient's cranium and spine revealed characteristic central nervous system involvement.

Possible Combined Central and Peripheral Demyelination Presenting as Optic Neuritis, Cervical Myelitis, and Demyelinating Polyneuropathy with Marked Nerve Hypertrophy.

A 27-year-old woman with optic neuritis and cervical myelitis developed hypertrophic demyelinating polyneuropathy. It was hypothesized that the diagnosis was combined central and peripheral demyelination. A hypertrophic nerve was observed subcutaneously, and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated marked hypertrophy of the nerve roots.

Relation of overactive bladder with motor symptoms and dopamine transporter imaging in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the relation of urinary dysfunction with motor symptoms and nigrostriatal neuron loss in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We therefore examined the relation of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms with motor symptoms and striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding measured by [123-Iodine]-fluoropropyl-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenylnortropane) dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography (I-FP-CIT SPECT).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-one untreated PD patients (12 men and 19 women with a mean age of 71.

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder with Recurrent Intracranial Hemorrhage.

The patient was a woman without hypertension who had previously experienced intracranial hemorrhage twice at 48 and 56 years of age. At 59 years of age, she was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) based on the presence of a brain stem lesion and the detection of anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies. After 5 months of continuous treatment with prednisolone (15 mg/day), she presented with optic neuritis and intracranial bleeding.

Two Cases of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type I-Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis Caused by Living-Donor Renal Transplantation.

In rare instances, recipients of organ transplants from human T-lymphotropic virus type I- (HTLV-I-) positive donors reportedly developed neurologic symptoms due to HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM). We present herein two cases of HAM associated with renal transplantation from HTLV-I seropositive living-donors. The first patient was a 42-year-old woman with chronic renal failure for twelve years and seronegative for HTLV-I.

Urinary dysfunction and motor symptoms in untreated Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the associations of motor symptoms in untreated Parkinson's disease (PD) with urinary dysfunction. We therefore examined the association between the overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS) and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-one untreated PD patients without dementia (12 men and 19 women with a mean age of 72.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with a codon 210 mutation: first pathological observation in a Japanese patient.

We herein report a case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) with a V210I mutation and discuss the pathological findings. The patient's clinical course was quite similar to that of patients with sporadic CJD. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) disclosed a high signal intensity in the basal ganglia and cerebral cortices.

Unusual basal ganglia lesions in a diabetic uraemic patient proven to be demyelination: first pathological observation.

A 64-year-old man suffering from diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure was admitted to our hospital because of consciousness disturbance and parkinsonism. Cranial MRI showed very characteristic features involving the bilateral basal ganglia. Subsequent postmortem examinations demonstrated demyelination in the affected areas.

Neck rigidity as a physical manifestation of higher brain hypo-function/dysfunction.

A total of 308 patients, who received inpatient rehabilitation in department of Neurology in Sapporo City General Hospital, were studied. The patients were divided into four subgroups according to the presence or absence of Parkinsonism and the location of organic neurological lesions: group A consisted of 47 patients with brain lesions who presented with Parkinsonism; group B consisted of 135 patients with manifestations deriving from brain disorders other than Parkinsonism; group C consisted of 68 patients with manifestations deriving from spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle disorders; and group D consisted of 58 patients with non-organic functional disorders and patients with organic lesions not responsible for clinical manifestations. The patients were administered a battery of 5 tests for evaluating frontal lobe and/or higher brain function.

Clinical features of spinal cord sarcoidosis: analysis of 17 neurosarcoidosis patients.

The diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis is often difficult; the imaging signs of spinal cord sarcoidosis sometimes mimic those of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, which is common in elderly persons. We examined the characteristics of spinal cord sarcoidosis in Japanese patients with neurosarcoidosis. This case series identified patients with neurosarcoidosis at four general hospitals and one university hospital from April 1998 to September 2010.