Biomedical subjects

J De Bleecker

Publications and source records attributed to J De Bleecker.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Histological and histochemical study of paraoxon myopathy in the rat.

Time and dose dependency of paraoxon-induced myopathy in rats was studied in relation to esterase inhibition and clinical symptoms. High-dose poisoning resulted in a major cholinergic crisis with concomitant acetylcholinesterase inhibition in the first few hours with rapid restoration thereafter. Dose-dependent segmental muscle fiber necrosis occurred in clusters around the end-plates and was more frequent in diaphragms as compared to gastrocnemius muscles. However, in low-dose poisoned rats without major cholinergic symptoms or end-plate cholinesterase inhibition, necrotic fibers were also present. This indicates that not only end-plate cholinesterase inhibition but also neural or neuronal factors might be responsible for acetylcholine overflow and muscle fiber degeneration.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Cytophotometric DNA determination in human meningiomas.

Cytophotometric DNA determination was performed on 23 biopsies of meningiomas. The DNA distributions were compared with the histological criteria of malignancy used by the World Health Organisation. Most of the meningiomas studied were diploid or slightly hyperdiploid. In one case, in which eight recurrent tumours were studied, regional differences in histology and DNA pattern were found. Histological anaplasia should be suspected in advance. When it is present, a considerable risk exists that the tumour will recur.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Ossification of the cervical posterior longitudinal ligament with severe myelopathy and fatal outcome.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament is rare among Caucasians. We describe a new case with lethal outcome and we discuss the radiographic and pathologic findings. Posterior longitudinal ligament ossification is a benign disease in most cases, but it may cause severe myelopathy due to spinal stenosis. Diagnosis may be suspected or made on lateral views of the cervical spine and ascertained by CT.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Influence of isaxonine on reinnervation of the rat gastrocnemius muscle.

Isaxonine is reported to have a favourable effect on nerve regeneration. The histological and histochemical changes were compared in the gastrocnemius muscles of 20 rats, in which the left sciatic nerve was frozen-crushed for 10 s at the level of the buttock. The animals received a daily dose of intraperitoneal isaxonine and ten others the solvent only. After 8 weeks small type grouping was seen in rats receiving solvent only and large type grouping in rats treated with isaxonine. After 10 weeks a checkerboard pattern of the fibre types was observed in the muscles of animals receiving solvent only but fibre type grouping was present in those treated with isaxonine. This experiment indicates that isaxonine prevents synaptic remodelling by suppression of the redundant nerve endings from additional axons, which have regenerated more slowly, in making contact with motor endplates.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Influence of isaxonine on the target phenomenon, muscle fibre size and neuromuscular junction in the tenotomized and denervated gastrocnemius muscle of the rat.

Isaxonine is reported to accelerate the rate of peripheral nerve regeneration, stimulate axonal sprouting and promote motor and sensory function recovery. The target phenomenon in muscle fibers is the morphological expression of increased stretch activity in a diseased muscle. It can be produced in the gastrocnemius muscle of the rat by tenotomy and is inhibited by simultaneous denervation. The influence of isaxonine on this experimental model was studied. Twenty Wistar rats were submitted to bilateral section of the Achilles tendon and section of the left sciatic nerve. In ten rats, treated with isaxonine, the qualitative and quantitative changes in the gastrocnemius muscle were compared with the control group over a period of 3 weeks. No statistical differences were observed in the occurrence and inhibition of the target phenomenon, the muscle fibre size and the neuromuscular junction. Isaxonine has no direct effect on a diseased muscle with an intact nerve supply, nor in the early stages after complete denervation.

Achilles Tendon↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ankylosing spondylitis and multiple sclerosis.

Ankylosing Spondylitis can be associated with extra-articular involvement. Besides internal and ocular complications, neurological manifestations such as single root lesions, compression of the myelum or the cauda equina syndrome have also been described. We present a patient with ankylosing spondylitis who developed a monophasic myelopathy resembling multiple sclerosis. Literature data show no conclusive evidence for an increased association of ankylosing spondylitis and multiple sclerosis. However, a monophasic myelopathy may be a separate neurological manifestation associated with ankylosing spondylitis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Progressive dysarthria. Case reports and a review of the literature.

Two patients presenting with progressive dysarthria as the single initial manifestation of a neurodegenerative condition are described. The nature of the dysarthria as well as the additional symptoms that developed in the course of the disorder are very different in these two cases. Nevertheless, neuroimaging findings are strikingly similar and suggest bilateral involvement of posterior inferior frontal lobe structures, mainly in the dominant cerebral hemisphere. The clinical syndrome of these patients can therefore be considered an example of frontotemporal degeneration presenting without dementia or compartmental alteration, at least in the early stages. This broadens the clinical spectrum of frontotemporal degeneration and demonstrates the need for a syndromal subclassification of this nosological entity.

Disease Progression↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Necrotizing myopathy with microvascular deposition of the complement membrane attack complex.

Necrotizing myopathy without prominent inflammatory changes is increasingly being recognized as a form of inflammatory myopathy, different from dermatomyositis, polymyositis and sporadic inclusion-body myositis. We report a patient with a chronic steroid-responsive myopathy and an ill-defined overlap syndrome. The muscle biopsy showed thickened capillaries and arterioles and deposition of the membrane attack complex in the replicated mural elements of some vessels. The surface of all muscle fibers showed major histocompatibility class I immunoreactivity. Similar patients have rarely been reported, either suffering from an undifferentiated connective tissue disorder or a carcinoma. The link between the muscle fiber necrosis and the microangiopathy is unclear. Absence of prominent inflammatory changes in a diagnostic muscle biopsy does not exclude the diagnosis of a treatable autoimmune inflammatory myopathy.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Autosomal recessive inheritance of polymicrogyria and dermatomyositis with paracrystalline inclusions.

A 7-year-old mentally retarded girl died following subacute dermatomyositis. Muscle biopsies supported the clinical diagnosis and revealed paracrystalline inclusions on EM. The brain autopsy showed cerebral and cerebellar polymicrogyria. The clinico-pathological findings in this child are related to similar previously reported data in her older sister. The possibility of a new autosomal recessive syndrome involving both fetal brain development and childhood immunological function is discussed.

Atrophy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Steroid treatment in primary intracerebral haemorrhage.

The efficiency of two types of steroid treatment was assessed in primary intracerebral haemorrhages. No significant difference in clinical evolution was observed between 57 cases treated with dexamethasone, 28 cases with methylprednisolone and 44 cases without corticosteroids. In a subgroup of 46 patients with putamino-capsular bleedings the non-steroid-treated group did significantly better than the steroid-treated one. Adverse reactions occurred at the same rate in the three groups.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cervical myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

A case of cervical myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament is presented. This disease is rather frequent among Japanese, but rare among non-Mongolian persons. To our knowledge, this is the first published Belgian patient with a myelopathy. The clinical and radiographic data are discussed together with a review of the literature.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hypertrophy of the inferior olivary nucleus. A clinico-pathological observation.

The clinico-pathological findings in a 61-year-old man, who suffered from branchial and skeletal myoclonus, appearing six months after a brainstem infarction are reported. Of all the drugs which are usually thought to be effective in the treatment of myoclonus, only valproic acid brought some relief. The necropsy revealed bilateral hypertrophy of the olives, together with bilateral pontine tegmental and rubral infarctions, without involvement of the olivary pathway.

Brain Stem↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hemiballism. Clinico-pathological conference.

A case of left hemiballism is presented. Besides multiple lacunar infarcts an haemorrhage in the contralateral subthalamic nucleus is shown. A short review of the literature is given with special attention to the etiology and the therapy.

Aged↗