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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Lymphoma-induced polyradiculopathy in AIDS: two cases.

Progressive polyradiculopathy is a rare, well-documented complication of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in man. It has been commonly attributed to a cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. We report two HIV-infected patients with clinical and electrophysiological features of a unique, subacute, progressive polyradiculopathy. Post-mortem examination in case 1 disclosed an infiltration of the leptomeninges, the lumbar spinal cord, and the anterior and posterior roots by a B-cell immunoblastic lymphoma. Immunochemistry for HIV1 and CMV was negative in the peripheral and the central nervous system. Case 2 showed bone-marrow involvement by a Burkitt type lymphoma. Specific chemotherapy was followed by both clinical improvement of the polyradiculopathy and complete remission on a second bone-marrow biopsy. These findings may indicate that a lymphoma must also be considered a possible cause of polyradiculopathy in AIDS.

Adult

Cryptococcal infection presenting with lumbosacral polyradiculopathy: report of a case.

Cryptococcal infection presenting primarily as lumbosacral polyradiculopathy is rare. We report on a 57-year-old man with lumbosacral polyradiculopathy, and in which a culture from the cerebrospinal fluid grew Cryptococcus neoformans. A serum cryptococcal antigen study showed a positive reaction. Biopsy specimens from the spinal nerve rootlet showed evidence of arachnoiditis and direct involvement of the nerve root by Cryptococcus neoformans. It is important to remember that localized lumbosacral polyradiculopathy can be the sole initial manifestation of cryptococcosis.

Cryptococcosis

Progressive polyradiculopathy in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

We studied three patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and progressive polyradiculopathy. Postmortem examination of one patient disclosed extensive necrosis, inflammatory infiltrates, and focal vasculitis of spinal roots. Typical cytomegaloviral (CMV), intranuclear, and intracytoplasmic inclusions were noted within enlarged endoneurial and endothelial cells. Progressive polyradiculopathy is an unusual complication of AIDS; CMV may be the causative agent in certain cases.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Spectrum of patients with EMG features of polyradiculopathy without neuropathy.

We reviewed the medical records of 233 patients having electrodiagnostic evidence of polyradiculopathy. Patients with polyneuropathy or incomplete diagnostic evaluation were excluded. A clinical diagnosis was secured in 92 of the 118 remaining patients. Patients were separated into three groups based upon the anatomic location of root involvement: extradural (55), intradural-extraaxial (23), and intraaxial (14). Collectively, patients with intradural-extraaxial disorders had earlier disease onset, shorter symptom duration, and a higher disability score compared with the intraaxial or extradural groups. Pain was an initial complaint in 50 of 55 patients with extradural lesions, 20 of 23 with intradural-extraaxial disease, but only in 4 of 14 with intraaxial involvement. CSF abnormalities and reduced compound muscle action potential amplitudes were more common in the intradural-extraaxial group. We conclude that the anatomic localization of root involvement in patients with polyradiculopathy can be suggested by a combination of clinical, laboratory, and electrodiagnostic features.

Diagnosis, Differential

Diabetic polyradiculopathy with trigeminal nerve involvement. A case report.

A 20-year-old white woman with controlled diabetes mellitus of 8 years' duration and a current diagnosis of diabetic polyradiculopathy had oral pain suggesting involvement of the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve and mimicking trigeminal neuralgia. Cranial nerve involvement in diabetic polyradiculopathy is rare, and trigeminal nerve involvement with pain has not been reported.

Adult

Syphilitic polyradiculopathy in an HIV-positive man.

We report a case of syphilitic lumbosacral polyradiculopathy in an HIV-positive, 22-year-old bisexual man with a recent history of secondary syphilis treated with intramuscular penicillin. He presented with rapidly progressive pain and weakness, and muscle wasting in the legs. CSF was under increased pressure and showed a marked pleocytosis (1,130 cells/mm3), hypoglycorrhachia (19 mg/dl), and very elevated protein (1,000 mg/dl). Serum and CSF VDRL serologies were positive. In the legs, nerve conduction studies and needle EMG were consistent with an asymmetric lumbosacral polyradiculopathy with active denervation. His clinical state, CSF, and electrophysiologic studies all improved promptly and markedly after intravenous penicillin. This report documents an uncharacteristically aggressive case of neurosyphilis accompanied by marked changes in the CSF in an HIV-positive patient. While the immunologic effects of HIV and syphilis in combination are not yet fully understood, the cellular immunity defect associated with HIV may alter the natural history of syphilis in patients with concomitant infection, producing unusually aggressive forms or atypical presentations of neurosyphilis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Ganciclovir in the treatment of progressive AIDS-related polyradiculopathy.

We present 7 HIV-infected patients with a unique, subacute, progressive polyradiculopathy. All had AIDS, sacral sensory loss, acute urinary retention, and progression to flaccid paraparesis in days to weeks. Cytomegalovirus was cultured from spinal fluid of 4 patients, and postmortem examination of the 1st 5 patients disclosed an inflammatory polyradiculopathy with cytomegalic inclusions. The inclusion-bearing cells were immunocytochemically positive for cytomegalovirus. Two patients who received early anti-cytomegalovirus treatment with ganciclovir improved. Thus, early recognition and treatment with ganciclovir may be effective in this otherwise fatal condition.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Magnetic resonance imaging of AIDS-related polyradiculopathy.

AIDS-related polyradiculopathy is a syndrome associated with cytomegalovirus infection. We report two cases of AIDS-related polyradiculopathy in which spinal T1-weighted MRI with gadolinium-DTPA showed enhancement of the pial lining of the conus medullaris, cauda equina, and lumbar nerve roots. Both patients clinically improved with ganciclovir treatment.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Subclinical lumbar polyradiculopathy in aged domestic, laboratory, and exotic mammalian species--a light and selected electron microscopic study.

Lumbar polyradiculopathy, characterized by ballooning myelin sheaths and axonal distortion, was documented in multiple, aged, domestic, laboratory, and exotic mammalian species. Animals studied that exhibited this nerve rootlet change included the goat, sheep, pig, white-tailed deer, gerbil, vole, ferret, beaver, hedgehog, chinchilla, North Chinese leopard, lion, cheetah, mountain lion, llama, East African eland, Uganda giraffe, polar bear, and drill. Ultrastructurally, lumbar nerve rootlets from the North Chinese leopard revealed prominent and often multiple lamellar separations in the area of myelin bubbling. Clefts in myelin sheaths contained macrophages with engulfed fragments of myelin. Axons were sometimes variously attenuated, and the axoplasm contained densely packed neurofilaments. In all species, the lesion was subclinical and considered an incidental age-related finding.

Aging

Subacute polyradiculopathy with optic and auditory nerve involvement.

Two patients are described, who, after an otherwise trivial viral upset, presented with an acute syndrome consisting of polyradiculopathy affecting all four limbs, with additional severe optic and auditory nerve involvement and other central nervous system signs. A combination of some of the features of the Guillain-Barré syndrome and a simultaneous acute episode of demyelination in the central nervous system were seen in these patients.

Adult

Polyradiculopathy in leptomeningeal metastasis: the role of EMG and late response studies.

Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) of systemic malignancy often give rise to multifocal involvement of the central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system. Signs of CNS dysfunction such as seizures and confusion often overshadow radicular deficits. We report clinical and laboratory evaluations in 10 patients with LM who presented with isolated polyradiculopathy. Our data suggest that electromyography and late response studies are sensitive indicators of radicular dysfunction in patients with LM. These studies are helpful in the early documentation of root involvement when computerized tomography, MRI and myelography are normal.

Adult

Inflammatory sensory polyradiculopathy and reactivated peripheral nervous system infection in a genital herpes model.

To study effects of herpesvirus reactivation on the nervous system, mice with latent genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections were immunosuppressed. Reactivated infection was detected by virus isolation or by antigen screening in histological sections of spines that contained cords, roots, and dorsal root ganglia. In ganglia, viral antigen was restricted to 2 distinct groups at T9-L2, and L6-S2 levels. In some ganglia, antigen was found in up to 4% of non-contiguous neurons, in their axons, and in endoneurial and satellite cells. Nerve roots distal to ganglia contained a few antigen-positive endoneurial cells and axons, but convincing antigen was not seen in proximal roots. Rare foci of anterior horn cells in the lower cord were the only central sites found to contain antigen. Comparison of antigen-containing ganglionic neuron counts to vaginal culture data indicate that peripheral virus shedding may depend on the number of neurons with reactivated infection. In non-immunosuppressed, latently infected mice, virus recovery was restricted to ganglionic explants from lower thoracic and lumbosacral regions; these ganglia contained no infectious virus in homogenates and no detectable antigen. These mice had an inflammatory polyradiculopathy in a similar distribution to virus found in latent and reactivated infection. The data show that genital HSV-2 infection can result in more extensive ganglionic latency and peripheral nervous system disease than has previously been recognized. Immunosuppression leads to reactivation and widespread, anatomically restricted antigen expression in many ganglia, consistent with the innervation of the genitourinary tract. Decalcified spine preparations provide a sensitive and simple way to detect virus reactivations and disease in these neural tissues.

Animals

Tuberculous polyradiculopathy: the value of magnetic resonance imaging of the neck.

A case of tuberculosis of the cervical spine with polyradiculopathy is described. The patient had musculo-skeletal symptoms for 2 years prior to developing a tuberculous pleural effusion. Magnetic resonance imaging in both sagittal and coronal planes accurately delineated the cervical lesion, demonstrating the value of this technique in the investigation of epidural sepsis in the neck.

Cervical Vertebrae

Rapid diagnosis of cytomegalovirus in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with AIDS-associated polyradiculopathy.

Polyradiculopathy is an uncommon but serious neurologic disorder that can complicate the course of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We report a case in which the presence of cytomegalovirus was detected in cerebrospinal fluid by immunoperoxidase staining. In addition, large atypical cells with flocculogranular cytoplasmic inclusions were present. These cells were found to be positive for cytomegalovirus by immunoperoxidase staining. Rapid diagnosis by this method permitted early intervention with ganciclovir.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Epidural morphine as an adjuvant to the treatment of pain in a patient with acute inflammatory polyradiculopathy secondary to Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The authors discuss a case of acute inflammatory polyradiculopathy in a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Consultation with podiatry was requested in an effort to remit the severe lower extremity symptoms. Treatment using epidural morphine with subsequent results is discussed. It is the authors' opinion that Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common acutely or subacutely evolving inflammatory, demyelinating, neuropathy in the United States.

Adult

Subclinical lumbar polyradiculopathy in multiple aged mammalian species.

Lumbar polyradiculopathy, characterized by ballooning myelin sheaths was diagnosed in multiple aged mammalian species including two horses, a cow, a squirrel, a woodchuck, a rabbit, a guinea pig, a hamster, and a mouse. The lesion was subclinical, and considered an incidental, age-related finding.

Aging

[Polyradiculopathy associated with bullous pemphigoid (author's transl)].

A sensorio-motor polyradiculopathy of subacute onset and a bullous pemphigoid form of herpetiform dermatitis (Dühring-Brocq disease) developed simultaneously in a 71-year-old man. Both conditions regressed under the influence of prednisone and azathioprine. The immediate cortico-dependence of the skin condition should be noted. Death occurred 9 months later, related to diffuse pulmonary aspergillosis. A paraneoplastic aetiology was sought unsuccessfully.

Aged