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Nobuhiro Yuki

Publications and source records attributed to Nobuhiro Yuki.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Clinical deterioration in Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis caused by overlapping Guillain-Barré syndrome.

A 37-year-old man developed an acute encephalitic condition after respiratory infection. His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he experienced ophthalmoplegia, tetraplegia, loss of brainstem reflexes and deep tendon reflexes, and deep coma. Electrophysiological evaluations indicated involvement of the peripheral nerve as well as the brainstem. Follow-up studies found acute progression of peripheral nerve damage. Serum anti-GQ1b IgG antibody was present. The initial condition was diagnosed as Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis, and subsequent overlapping of Guillain-Barré syndrome probably was responsible for the clinical deterioration. When unusual worsening is observed in clinically suspected encephalitis, neurologists must take into account the possibility of associated Guillain-Barré syndrome and related disorders.

Adult↗

Axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

We report the first case of axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). A 30-year-old Japanese man, who had suffered leg atrophy and foot deformity since childhood, developed acute weakness in his four limbs following an upper respiratory tract infection. Nerve conduction studies showed low compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitudes in all the nerves tested. Serial studies showed a rapid increase in CMAP amplitude, but no significant change in SNAP, which indicates that the acute event selectively involved motor axons and was superimposed on a baseline motor-sensory axonal neuropathy, probably CMT Type 2. Elevated serum IgG antibodies against GM1 and GM1b, an increase in CSF protein, and rapid clinical and electrophysiological recovery after plasma exchange support the diagnosis of a pure motor axonal form of GBS, acute motor axonal neuropathy. The association may be coincidental, but a particular susceptibility to axonal damage of CMT2 cannot be excluded.

Adult↗

Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis: clinical features of 62 cases and a subgroup associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Bickerstaff reported eight patients who, in addition to acute ophthalmoplegia and ataxia, showed drowsiness, extensor plantar responses or hemisensory loss. This condition has been named Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis (BBE). One patient had gross flaccid weakness in the four limbs. Presumably because of the rarity of this disorder, there has been no reported study on a large number of patients with BBE. To clarify its clinical features, we reviewed detailed clinical profiles and laboratory findings for 62 cases of BBE diagnosed by the strict criteria of progressive, relatively symmetrical external ophthalmoplegia and ataxia by 4 weeks, and disturbance of consciousness or hyperreflexia. Ninety-two per cent of the patients involved had had an antecedent illness. Besides ophthalmoplegia and ataxia, disturbance of consciousness was frequent (74%), and facial diplegia (45%), Babinski's sign (40%) and pupillary abnormality and bulbar palsy (34%) were present. Almost all the patients had a monophasic remitting course and generally a good outcome. Serum anti-GQ1b IgG antibody was positive in 66%, and MRI showed brain abnormality in 30% of the patients. Another striking feature was the association with flaccid symmetrical tetraparesis, seen in 60% of the patients. An autopsy study of a BBE patient clearly showed the presence of definite inflammatory changes in the brainstem: there was perivascular lymphocytic infiltration with oedema and glial nodules. Electrodiagnostic study results suggested peripheral motor axonal degeneration. Limb weakness in the BBE cases studied was considered the result of overlap with the axonal subtype of Guillain-Barré syndrome. These findings confirm that BBE constitutes a clinical entity and provide additional clinical and laboratory features of BBE. A considerable number of BBE patients have associated axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome, indicative that the two disorders are closely related and form a continuous spectrum.

Adolescent↗

Anti-GM1b IgG antibody is associated with acute motor axonal neuropathy and Campylobacter jejuni infection.

Anti-GM1 and anti-GM1b antibodies are frequently present in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and accordingly, the two antibodies often coexist in the same patient. In order to study clinical and laboratory features of anti-GM1b-positive GBS, we analyzed the data of patients with anti-GM1b IgG antibody but no anti-GM1 IgG antibody. Of 86 consecutive patients, 10 had anti-GM1b antibody alone and frequently had acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN, 80%) and Campylobacter jejuni infection (60%). Of 10 patients with anti-GM1 antibody alone, four had AMAN, and two had C. jejuni infection. These results showed that GM1b could be a target molecule of autoantibody in the AMAN form of GBS subsequent to C. jejuni infection.

Adolescent↗

Longitudinal changes of anti-ganglioside antibodies before and after Guillain-Barré syndrome onset subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis.

Anti-ganglioside antibodies frequently are present in sera from patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during the acute phase, but no patients in whom anti-ganglioside antibodies were tested before the onset of the syndrome have been reported. We describe the first case of GBS subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni infection, in which longitudinal changes in anti-ganglioside antibody titers were measured before and after the onset of limb weakness. Serum antibody titers against GM1 (IgM/IgG), GM1b (IgM/IgG), GalNAc-GD1a (IgM/IgG), and GD1b (IgG) were highest on the day of onset, but negative before onset. Anti-C. jejuni IgG and IgA antibody titers paralleled those of the anti-ganglioside antibodies, indicative that C. jejuni infection triggered anti-ganglioside antibody production. Press et al. [J. Neurol. Sci. 190 (2001) 41] reported that anti-ganglioside antibody titers peaked during the recovery phase, but our findings are counter to theirs. We speculate that anti-ganglioside antibodies are the primary effectors of nerve damage in GBS.

Antibodies↗

Acute motor axonal neuropathy rabbit model: immune attack on nerve root axons.

Macrophages in the periaxonal space and surrounding intact myelin sheath are the most prominent pathological feature of acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN). We describe this characteristic in nerve roots from paralyzed rabbits immunized with bovine brain ganglioside or GM1. IgG was deposited on nerve root axons. Distal nerve conduction was preserved, and late F wave components were absent during the acute phase. Initial lesions were located mainly on nerve root axons, as in human AMAN. This study thus provides supportive evidence that the rabbits constitute a model of AMAN.

Action Potentials↗

Patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy initially diagnosed as Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Progression periods for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) differ from those of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), but physicians could classify patients with CIDP within 4 weeks of onset as GBS. We studied and report the frequency of GBS patients who were later diagnosed as CIDP (11/663, 2%). Plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin transiently improved all the 11 patients, who 11 progressed slowly or had a relapse beyond the 8 weeks, and the other 2 suffered a relapse between 4 and 8 weeks from the onset. Three patients had had an antecedent infectious illness. CSF albumino-cytological dissociation was detected in 6 patients within 2 weeks of onset. Recognition of the existence of such patients is important for the early diagnosis and treatment of those patients with CIDP for whom GBS has been diagnosed at onset.

Adult↗

CDR3 spectratyping analysis of the T cell receptor repertoire in Guillain-Barré and Fisher syndromes.

Several autoimmune and infectious disorders show oligoclonal expansion of particular T cell phenotypes. The extent of T cell involvement in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a post-infectious autoimmune neuropathy, however, is not clear. To identify the pathogenic T cell phenotypes in GBS and Fisher syndrome (FS), variations in T cell receptor use of the V beta 1-24 and V delta 1-5 chain genes were analyzed at complementarity-determining region 3 level in 119 patients with GBS or FS. Overall, V beta and V delta spectratypes were expanded more frequently in patients with GBS (V beta in 77%, V delta in 53%) or FS (V beta in 75%, V delta in 65%) than in the healthy controls (V beta in 59%, V delta in 38%). No particular spectratype was significantly associated with GBS or FS. Subgrouping the patients by Campylobacter jejuni serology and anti-ganglioside IgG antibodies also failed to detect particular spectratype gene use. The frequency of V beta 5.2 expansion tended to be higher in patients with positive Haemophilus influenzae serology (50%) than in the controls (7%), but the difference was not significant. Our findings show that oligoclonal expansion of T cells bearing particular type T cell receptor V beta and V delta genes frequently occurs in GBS and FS, suggestive that T cells mediate the development of these neuropathies. The predominant phenotypes vary, even within subgroups of patients with a syndrome of single etiological origin or those with uniform serological features.

Acute Disease↗

[Clinical features of patients associated with anti-GM1b antibody].

To clarify the clinical features of patients with anti-GM1b antibody, we retrospectively investigated which conditions were associated with anti-GM1b antibody in a large number of patients. Two hundred out of 1,713 patients had anti-GM1b antibody. One hundred and sixty-six (83%) were diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or atypical GBS with preserved deep tendon reflexes. Our study suggests that the anti-GM1b antibody testing is useful for supporting the diagnosis of GBS. In addition, anti-GM1b antibody was detected in 18 patients with Fisher syndrome and the related conditions associated with anti-GQ1b IgG antibody, and 3 patients with ataxic GBS associated with anti-GD1b IgG antibody.

Adult↗

Acute isolated bulbar palsy with anti-GT1a IgG antibody subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis.

We describe a patient with acute isolated bulbar palsy following enteritis. A 29-year-old man developed dysphagia and nasal voice without limb weakness, ataxia, or areflexia. High titres of serum anti-GT1a and anti-Campylobacter jejuni IgG antibodies were detected. He was treated with plasmapheresis, resulting in rapid clinical improvement. This case suggests that an acute isolated bulbar palsy may be caused by a pathology relating to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), in which anti-GT1a IgG antibody may have a role.

Adult↗

Hyperreflexia in axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome subsequent to Campylobacter jejuni enteritis.

We describe a patient with the acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) form of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), who showed generalized hyperreflexia. A 24-year-old man developed acute paralysis following Campylobacter jejuni enteritis. He showed exaggerated tendon reflexes with abnormal reflex spread to other segments, and was initially diagnosed as having post-infectious myelitis. Nerve conduction studies showed motor axonal degeneration (the AMAN pattern), and increased soleus H-reflex amplitudes. His serum was positive for IgG antibodies to gangliosides GM1b and GalNAc-GD1a. He was treated with plasmapheresis, resulting in rapid recovery. Hyperreflexia was still present 12 months after onset when muscle strength was completely normal. This case provides further evidence that patients with AMAN can develop increased motor neuron excitability, and possible mechanisms for the hyperreflexia are discussed.

Adult↗

Fine specificities of anti-LM1 IgG antibodies in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

We investigated the prevalence of anti-LM1 IgG antibody and its fine specificity in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Anti-LM1 IgG and IgM antibodies from sera of 47 patients with GBS--19 with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), 27 with acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), and 1 with acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN)--were tested. Anti-LM1 IgG antibody was detected in only one patient with AIDP, whereas it was present in seven with AMAN and in one with AMSAN. Sera from the eight IgG anti-LM1-positive patients with AMAN/AMSAN also had IgG activity against the gangliosides GM1, GM1b, GD1a, GalNAc-GD1a, GD1b, or GQ1b. Anti-LM1 IgG antibodies from the AMAN/AMSAN patients cross-reacted with other gangliosides, whereas IgG antibody from the AIDP patient was monospecific against LM1. Anti-LM1 IgG antibody therefore, cannot be a marker of AIDP. In addition, whether monospecific anti-LM1 IgG antibody is associated with AIDP remains to be concluded. Larger studies are needed to verify whether monospecific anti-LM1 IgG antibody could be a marker of AIDP.

Adult↗

Differences in membrane properties of axonal and demyelinating Guillain-Barré syndromes.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is classified into acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) by electrodiagnostic and pathological criteria. In AMAN, the immune attack appears directed against the axolemma and nodes of Ranvier. Threshold tracking was used to measure indices of axonal excitability (refractoriness, supernormality, and threshold electrotonus) for median nerve axons at the wrist of patients with AMAN (n = 10) and AIDP (n = 8). Refractoriness (the increase in threshold current during the relative refractory period) was greatly increased in AMAN patients, but the abruptness of the threshold increases at short interstimulus intervals indicated conduction failure distal to the stimulation (ie, an increased refractory period of transmission). During the 4 week period from onset, the high refractoriness returned toward normal, and the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential increased, consistent with improvement in the safety margin for impulse transmission in the distal nerve. In contrast, refractoriness was normal in AIDP, even though there was marked prolongation of distal latencies. Supernormality and threshold electrotonus were normal in both groups of patients, suggesting that, at the wrist, membrane potential was normal and pathology was relatively minor. These results support the view that the predominantly distal targets of immune attack are different for AMAN and AIDP. Possible mechanisms for the reduced safety factor in AMAN are discussed.

Action Potentials↗

Unilateral cranial and phrenic nerve involvement in axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome.

A 49-year-old woman developed acute left facial, hypoglossal, and phrenic nerve palsies, as well as dysphagia and weakness in the neck and arms. Electrophysiologic studies showed an acute motor axonal neuropathy. Serum anti-GM1 IgG antibody was positive. Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment resulted in good clinical recovery. The present report indicates that the cranial and phrenic nerves may be affected unilaterally in Guillain-Barré syndrome, and that there is clinical variability in the axonal subtype of this syndrome.

Axons↗

Fisher syndrome or Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis? Anti-GQ1b IgG antibody syndrome involving both the peripheral and central nervous systems.

We describe a 27-year-old woman who showed the clinical triad of Fisher syndrome (ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia), a disturbance of consciousness, facial diplegia, and hemisensory loss. Her serum was positive for anti-GQ1b immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody. The electroencephalographic findings (diffuse slow activity), median somatosensory evoked potential (absent cortical N20 with normal cervical N13), and blink reflex studies (absent R2) suggested central dysfunction, whereas results of facial nerve conduction studies (low amplitudes of compound muscle action potentials), F-wave and H-reflex studies (absent F-waves and soleus H-reflexes), and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (prolongation of wave I latency) suggested peripheral abnormalities. This case supports the hypothesized continuity between Fisher syndrome and Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis. These two conditions may represent a single autoimmune disease mediated by anti-GQ1b antibody, usually involving the peripheral and occasionally the central nervous systems.

Adult↗