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Lineu C Werneck

Publications and source records attributed to Lineu C Werneck.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Parkinson's disease and thyroid dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Although no causal linkage between hypothyroidism and Parkinson's disease (PD) has been demonstrated so far, both share common manifestations and coexistence can be a source of diagnostic delay and confusion. PURPOSE: To assess thyroid function in patients with PD. SCOPE: Ninety-five PD patients and 102 age-matched controls were assessed for hypothyroidism through clinical evaluation and laboratory screening. RESULTS: In the PD group 13.7% were hypothyroid versus 10.8% in the control group. Statistical analysis did not show a significant difference (p = 0.3681). CONCLUSION: Although hypothyroidism was not more prevalent in our PD patients in comparison with the control group, we believe that given the potential overlap of symptoms and signs, thyroid function should be assessed in patients showing worsening of symptoms that cannot be explained by disease progression or resistance to therapy adjustment; screening should take into account the particular acute effect of levodopa on serum TSH levels.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

[Central pontine and extra-pontine myelinolysis in an alcoholic patient without hydro-electrolyte disturbances: case report].

Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) and extra-pontine myelinolysis (EPM) are different presentations of a demyelinating disorder of the brain more commonly associated with rapid correction of hyponatremia, spastic tetraparesia and pseudo-bulbar palsy. There are in the literature a few cases of CPM/EPM in patients without electrolyte disturbances. We report the case of a 39 year-old man with severe alcoholism, who presented with spastic tetraparesis and palsy of several cranial nerves, associated with lesions in the magnetic resonance compatible with CPM/EPM. The patient had a good follow-up after pulse therapy with corticosteroids.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Rod distribution and muscle fiber type modification in the progression of nemaline myopathy.

Nemaline myopathy is a structural congenital myopathy associated with the presence of rodlike structures inside the muscle fibers and type I predominance. It may be caused by mutations in at least five genes: slow alpha-tropomyosin 3 (chromosome 1q22-23), nebulin (chromosome 2q21.1-q22), actin (chromosome 1q42), tropomyosin 2 (chromosome 9p13), and troponin T1 (chromosome 19q13.4). The effect of these mutations in the expression of the protein and the mechanism of rod formation is still under investigation. We analyzed the possibility of progressive alterations with time and/or disease evolution, such as transformation of type I to type II fiber and rod pattern and distribution in muscle fibers from patients with nemaline myopathy, through a morphometric and immunohistochemical analysis of different muscle protein isoforms. A tendency of diffuse rods to be organized in the subsarcolemmal region was observed in two patients who were submitted to subsequent biopsies after 10 and 13 years. Additionally, we observed the expression of type II protein isoforms in type I fibers and a higher proportion of type II fibers in the younger patient of a pair of affected sibs, giving further support to the hypothesis of progressive conversion of type II to type I fibers in nemaline myopathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Anti-gp43 antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with central nervous system involvement by paracoccidioidomycosis.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, endemic in subtropical areas of Central and South America. The diagnosis of the central nervous system (CNS) involvement with PCM (neuroparacoccidioidomycosis [NPCM]) frequently is difficult. A definitive diagnosis usually is made by visualization or isolation of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis from CNS biopsy or necropsy material. In the present study, we determined the presence of anti-gp43 antibodies in the cerebrospinalfluid (CSF) of patients with CNS involvement in PCM by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 9 cases of NPCM and 15 control cases. ELISA anti-gp43 was compared with double immunodiffusion (DID). ELISA anti-gp43 was positive in 8 (89%) of 9 CSF samples from patients with NPCM and negative in all CSF samples of the control group. DID was negative in all CSF samples from patients with NPCM and control samples. ELISA anti-gp43 in CSF samples is better than DID for the diagnosis of NPCM. It is a sensitive and specific diagnostic method and has high predictive values. To our knowledge, this is thefirst time ELISA anti-gp43 was applied to CSF.

Adult↗