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N Birouk

Publications and source records attributed to N Birouk.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

[Pure motor neuropathy after radiation therapy: 6 cases].

We report clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of six patients (five women and one man) presenting a pure motor bilateral asymmetric proximal and distal weakness in the setting of radiation therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma in four cases, carcinoma of the uterus in one, and cancer of the ovary in one. Motor deficit, amyotrophy, cramps, fasciculations and tendinous areflexia were confined to the lower limbs in five patients and to the upper limbs in one. No sensory or sphincter disturbance was noted. The progression of the disease was slow with sometimes secondary stabilization. In some patients, CSF showed a slight increase in protein content with no cell. Blood and MRI medullary examination were normal. Delay between radiation therapy and onset of neurological symptoms range from 6 to 24 years (mean 15). Neurophysiological findings suggest ventral roots proximal conduction blocks. We found an increase F-waves latency, a complete distal palsy contrasting with persistent muscle action potential after distal stimulation, in most of the patients; and an evidence of a conduction block between the erb point and the cervical roots using magnetic stimulation in the patient with upper limbs involvement. Mechanisms and sites of nerve radiation injury remains still unclear. These data could indicate, as it was already reported, a proximal damage involving predominantly the motor roots.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Recurrent polyradiculoneuropathy with the 17p11.2 deletion.

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) classically occurs as recurrent focal neuropathy. We report the first known instance of HNPP manifesting, over a 15-year period, as a recurrent sensorimotor polyneuropathy and confirmed by the presence of the PMP-22 gene deletion. We suggest that the molecular study of the 17p11.2 region could be an effective non invasive investigative tool in cases of chronic recurrent polyneuropathy associated with episodes of nerve palsy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease with intermediate motor nerve conduction velocities: characterization of 14 Cx32 mutations in 35 families.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease can be inherited either autosomal dominantly or recessively or linked to the X chromosome. X-linked dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTX) is a sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy in which males have usually more severe clinical symptoms and decreased nerve conduction velocities than do females. CMTX is usually associated with mutations in exon 2 of the connexin 32 (Cx32) gene. DNA from 35 unrelated CMT patients, without the 17p11.2 duplication, but with median nerve conduction between 30 and 40 m/s, were tested for the presence of Cx32 mutations. The entire coding sequence of the Cx32 gene was explored using a rapid nonradioactive technique to detect single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCP) on large PCR fragments. Thirteen abnormal SSCP profiles were detected and characterized by sequencing. In addition, systematic sequencing of the entire Cx32 coding region in the remaining index cases revealed another mutation that was not detected by SSCP. A total of 14 mutations were found, five of which were not previously reported. These results demonstrate the high frequency (40%) of mutations in the coding region of the Cx32 gene in CMT patients with intermediate MNCV, without 17p11.2 duplications. Most of these mutations (93%) can be detected by SSCP.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Patients homozygous for the 17p11.2 duplication in Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A disease.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A disease is an inherited sensorimotor neuropathy that is most often associated with a duplication of chromosome 17p11.2. This region contains the gene of the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), which is responsible by a gene dosage effect for the Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A phenotype with 17p11.2 duplication. We performed a clinical, electrophysiological, and genetic study of a consanguinous Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A family with 4 affected siblings, 3 of whom were homozygous for the 17p11.2 duplication, the other a heterozygote. Comparison of phenotypes showed that the severity of the disease was variable among the homozygotes, one of whom was no more severely affected than the heterozygous sibling who was paucisymptomatic. These results suggest that the severity of the disease is not determined solely by the number of copies of the PMP22 gene.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A with 17p11.2 duplication. Clinical and electrophysiological phenotype study and factors influencing disease severity in 119 cases.

A clinical and electrophysiological study was performed in 119 Type 1A Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT1A) patients with proven 17p11.2 duplication. Onset of the first functional manifestations was in the first decade in 50% of cases and before the age of 20 years in 70% of cases. The predominant clinical signs were muscle weakness and wasting in the lower limbs. None of the patients was normal on clinical examination and all presented at least pes cavus or ankle jerk areflexia. Motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) was uniformly reduced in all nerves, and was < or = 33 m/s in the median nerve for all patients. Sensory potentials were abnormal in all cases, even where there was no clinical sensory loss. Needle electromyography recruitment was reduced in distal muscles for all patients. MNCV slowing was fully consistent with the presence of duplication even in clinically asymptomatic individuals or in children, confirming the complete electrophysiological penetrance of 17p11.2 duplication and making median nerve MNCV a reliable tool for screening affected at-risk individuals. Functional disability was mild. Ninety-six percent of patients were autonomous; 25% were asymptomatic and diagnosed by systematic family investigation especially on the basis of median nerve MNCV reduction. Early age at onset and greatly reduced median nerve MNCV were predictive of a more severe disease course; the earlier the onset the more reduced the median nerve MNCV and the higher the functional disability tended to be after an equivalent disease duration. Cross-sectional analysis of neurological deficit, functional deficit and MNCV according to disease duration showed that, regardless of age at onset, CMT1A disease with 17p11.2 duplication is a clinically progressive disorder. Neurological deficit and functional disability increased, whereas median nerve MNCV and compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude did not change with disease course. Intrafamilial phenotype variation between parents and children and between siblings was studied in large families. Functional disability and neurological deficit differed widely and the highest range of median nerve MNCV within a family reached 23 m/s. Clinical and electrophysiological data were compared with those of CMT1B patients with peripheral myelin P0 protein point mutation. CMT1A patients were found to be more severely affected with more prolonged distal motor latency and more reduced CMAP amplitude, whereas MNCV did not significantly differ, indicating that peripheral myelin P0 protein point mutation is not always associated with a severe phenotype. The same genetic defect (17p11.2 duplication) results in variable expression within the phenotype, even in siblings with variations in age at onset, clinical severity and MNCV slowing. This phenotypic variation could be due to additional genetic factors related to peripheral myelin protein 22 expression as well as to other endogenous or environmental factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

SMN gene analysis of the spinal form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The spinal form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (spinal CMT) is a rare genetic disorder of the peripheral nervous system, the genetic basis of which remains unknown. To test the hypothesis that a defect of survival motor neuron (SMN), the determining gene for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), would result in spinal CMT, 18 unrelated spinal CMT patients were studied. Nine of them were sporadic cases and the other nine belonged to unrelated autosomal dominant pedigrees. None of the 18 patients showed deletions involving SMN exons 7 or 8, the most frequent gene alteration found in SMA. In addition, haplotype analysis in two large autosomal dominant pedigrees showed that the 5q13 locus was not segregating with the spinal CMT locus. Therefore, neither the sporadic nor the familial cases of spinal CMT are associated with a SMN gene deletion, nor are the familial cases linked to the 5q13 region, indicating that this neuropathy is genetically different from SMA.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease↗
PubMed1997

Hereditary thermosensitive neuropathy: an autosomal dominant disorder of the peripheral nervous system.

We report the clinical and electrophysiologic characteristics of eight patients (four men and four women) with a hereditary neuropathy with probable thermosensitivity (HTN) of autosomal dominant inheritance. Patients presented reversible episodes of ascending muscle weakness, paresthesiae, and areflexia apparently triggered by an elevation of body temperature over 38.5 degrees C. Mean age at onset was 13 +/- 12 (SD; range 6 to 43). Four patients had suffered up to five attacks. EMG and pathologic findings were compatible with a reversible demyelinating neuropathy such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. We excluded loci causing other hereditary demyelinating neuropathies, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type I (CMT type I) and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP), by linkage analysis; thus, HTN is not allelic to either CMT type I or to HNPP.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Multifocal motor neuropathies with conduction blocks. 39 cases].

Clinical, biological and electrophysiological features from a cohort of 39 multifocal motor neuropathies with conduction blocks (NMM with CB) have been studied. There were 29 males and 10 females with an average of 47.3. At the first evaluation, the mean duration of the symptoms was of 8 years with extremes between 1 and 28. Pain and paresthesias were present in respectively 10 and 18 p. 100 of the patients. Fasciculations and cramps were observed in more than 2/3 of the cases. Three patients had tremor at rest. Upper limb muscular weakness was the predominant initial symptom (84.6 p. 100). The weakness always affected distal and unilateral muscles. Radial and cubital nerve distribution are mainly affected and in half of the cases an unilateral motor deficit in the lower limb was associated. Muscle atrophy was frequent (74 p. 100) and rapidly developed in the first 2 years. Reflexes were decreased or absent in 64 p. 100. In 78 p. 100 of cases, biological study showed normal serum immunoelectrophoresis and CSF. IgM anti-GM1 antibodies were found in 24/36 patients. Very high titres were found in 5 cases. All patients had CB in upper limbs. The preferential localizations of the CB were equally at the median and ulnar nerves. Only 7 patients had CB localized to the lower limbs. In many cases, marked reduction of the motor amplitude prevented the detection of CB, marked reduction of the motor amplitude prevented the detection of CB. Moderate fibrillation potentials were found in 28 p. 100 of patients. Giant muscular unit potentials were frequent (21/39). F-waves in nerve with CB were always abnormal with marked increased latencies. Late responses sometimes seemed to be repeater F-waves. Axon reflexes were detected in 5 cases. The late responses abnormalities could precede the block. Clinical, biological and electrophysiological described arguments could may distinguish NMM with CB from motor neuron disease and relate them to the group of chronic demyelinating neuropathies.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: electromyography is still useful in diagnosis and classification].

Genetic heterogeneity was known for a long time in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). The recent findings in molecular biology emphasized the distinction in different types of the disease. Nevertheless, electrophysiological examinations are of a great interest to detect asymptomatic patients, to classify the different forms and to make correlations with the clinical and histological features. Current classification is based on genetic and electrophysiologic data. CMT1, or hypertrophic form in which mutations or a duplication were found on chromosome 17 is the most frequent (CMT1A), CMT2 is the neuronal form, CMT3 is termed the Dejerine-Sottas disease, CMT4 recessive forms, CMT5 a form with associated pyramidal features, and CMTX. The electrophysiologic aspects of these different types are reported.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease↗
PubMed1996

Recombination hot spot in a 3.2-kb region of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A repeat sequences: new tools for molecular diagnosis of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies and of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A. French CMT Collaborative Research Group.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) disease and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) are autosomal dominant neuropathies, associated, respectively, with duplications and deletions of the same 1.5-Mb region on 17p11.2-p12. These two rearrangements are the reciprocal products of an unequal meiotic crossover between the two chromosome 17 homologues, caused by the misalignment of the CMT1A repeat sequences (CMT1A-REPs), the homologous sequences flanking the 1.5-Mb CMT1A/HNPP monomer unit. In order to map recombination breakpoints within the CMT1A-REPs, a 12.9-kb restriction map was constructed from cloned EcoRI fragments of the proximal and distal CMT1A-REPs. Only 3 of the 17 tested restriction sites were present in the proximal CMT1A-REP but absent in the distal CMT1A-REP, indicating a high degree of homology between these sequences. The rearrangements were mapped in four regions of the CMT1A-REPs by analysis of 76 CMT1A index cases and 38 HNPP patients, who where unrelated. A hot spot of crossover breakpoints, located in a 3.2-kb region, accounted for three-quarters of the rearrangements, detected after EcoRI/SacI digestion, by the presence of 3.2-kb and 7.8-kb junction fragments in CMT1A and HNPP patients, respectively. These junction fragments, which can be detected on classical Southern blots, permit molecular diagnosis. Other rearrangements can also be detected by gene dosage on the same Southern blots.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease↗
PubMed1995

[Fahr syndrome and dysparathyroidism. 3 cases].

Fahr's disease associates various degrees of neuropsychological impairment and calcium deposits in the basal ganglia. We report 3 cases. The first case was a 54-year-old man with hemichorea of one-year duration. Laboratory results demonstrated idiopathic hypoparathyroidism. In the second case, a 23-year-old man treated for epilepsia for 8 years was hospitalized for subintrant episodes and hemichorea. Dysmorphism and laboratory results led to the diagnosis of pseudo-hypothyroidism. The third case was a 62-year-old woman with generalized seizures of epilepsia and dementia of two-month duration. Physical examination revealed extra-pyramidal rigidity. Hyperparathyroidism due to an adenoma was confirmed histologically. In all three patients, correction of phosphocalcium levels led to clinical improvement, particularly with disappearance of the epileptic seizures and abnormal movements. Clinical expression of Fahr's syndrome varies greatly. Symptoms include psychiatric disorders, epileptic seizures, extra-pyramidal syndrome and various neurological conditions. Diagnosis requires CT brain scan which identifies calcium deposits in the basal ganglia. The main cause is hypoparathyroidism, whether primary or post-operative. Cases due to other causes of dysparathyroidism are rare. The pathophysiology of this condition remains unknown and results of treatment are often unsatisfactory. Since correcting the impaired calcium phosphorus metabolism often leads to considerable improvement, it is essential to systematically search for dysparathyroidism in patients presenting with neuropsychologic manifestations associated with calcifications of the basal ganglia.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Middle cerebral artery occlusion due to hydatid cysts of myocardial and intraventricular cavity cardiac origin. Two cases.

BACKGROUND: Hemispheric strokes of hydatid origin are very rare. We describe two cases of middle cerebral artery occlusion by a cyst of cardiac origin. CASE DESCRIPTIONS: Cerebral angiography demonstrated occlusion of the initial segment of the middle cerebral artery. Myocardial and pericardial cysts were diagnosed by echography and pathological examination. Subsequent development of hydatid cysts within the necrotic area of the infarcted hemisphere suggests cerebral hydatid embolism of cardiac origin. CONCLUSIONS: In endemic areas, embolism of hydatid cysts should be considered in the diagnosis of stroke in young patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Dermatomyositis and Wilson disease].

A 15 year-old girl developed both a dermatomyositis and a Wilson's disease. A clinical remission was obtained with steroids and D-penicillamine. The potential role of cupric intoxication in the pathogeny of the muscular syndrome is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Thrombosis of the upper longitudinal sinus and syphilitic cranial osteitis].

A 33-year old man developed progressive intracranial hypertension with papilloedema due to thrombosis of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) by extension of a skull osteitis. Serological tests for syphilis were positive in blood, CSF and synovial fluid. Under treatment with penicillin and corticosteroids signs of intracranial hypertension and CT scan abnormalities disappeared. SSS thrombosis persisted at angiographic control.

Adult↗