[Atypical Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with ophthalmoplegia and visual impairment following herpes simplex virus type 1 infection].

Two weeks after a flu-like illness, a 59-year-old woman developed double vision, muscle weakness and sensory discomfort in the proximal portions of her limbs. On admission, there was complete external ophthalmoplegia with bilateral ptosis. The pupils were dilated and did not react to light.

[Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome--report of two patients in a family with muscle CT study].

Two patients with Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome in a family were characterized by autosomal recessive inheritance, congenital cataract, cerebellar ataxia, mental retardation, short stature and variable skeletal abnormalities. Muscle biopsy specimens showed replacement of muscle fibers by fat and fibrous tissue, a marked variation of fiber size and a rimmed vacuole formation. Nerve biopsy specimens showed a reduced number of myelinated nerve fibers in the sural nerves.

[Familial juvenile parkinsonism with dementia and autonomic failure--a case report].

A case of familial juvenile parkinsonism with dementia, orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic bladder and constipation was reported. He had been in a good health until the age of 28 when a finger tremor occurred on effort to hold hands in a definite position, and disturbances in gait and speech were noted. These symptoms were relieved by levodopa treatment followed by dyskinesia and motor fluctuations.

[A case of spinal osteomyelitis detected by MRI].

A 75-year-old man was admitted because of chest pain and gait disturbance. He noticed pain in the left anterior chest regardless of exercise 3 months prior to admission. Two months later, the chest became smart with motion, followed by sensory disturbance of the lower extremities.

MERRF: a clinicopathological study. Relationships between myoclonus epilepsies and mitochondrial myopathies.

Myoclonus epilepsy associated with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) is a degenerative disease involving dentate nuclei of the cerebellum, globus pallidus, the posterior columns and spinocerebellar tracts of the spinal cord, and skeletal muscles. Abnormal mitochondria were observed in the cells of the cerebellar cortex and of the dentate nuclei. The main symptoms of this disease include cerebellar ataxia and myoclonus in addition to muscular wasting.