Internal medicine
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A 70-year-old man had developed a high fever and arthralgia in his right elbow 6 months prior. Loxoprofen improved the symptoms temporarily, but arthropathy developed in other joints. Long-term recurrent arthropathy and the fever caused activity reduction and progressive debilitation. ⋯ A lymph node biopsy revealed epithelioid cell granulomas, which, along with elevated angiotensin-converting enzyme levels, led to the diagnosis of sarcoid arthropathy. After prednisolone administration, the fever and arthralgia resolved, and his activities of daily living improved. Clinicians should be aware of this type of sarcoid arthropathy.
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A 54-year-old man was admitted with obstructive jaundice. Computed tomography showed common bile duct stricture and a tumor around the celiac artery. ⋯ The treatment plan and prognosis of obstructive jaundice differ greatly depending on the disease. It is important to conduct careful follow-up and repeated histological examinations with appropriate modifications until a diagnosis is made.
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Case Reports
Anti-neurofascin 155 Antibody-positive Neuropathy in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus-infected Patient.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neuropathy is a common complication of HIV infection and has several clinical subtypes. HIV-associated chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a demyelinating neuropathy whose clinical features are known to differ from those of CIDP in the HIV-uninfected population. ⋯ The clinical features, including clinical findings and therapeutic responses, were typical of paranodal antibody-mediated neuropathy. To our knowledge, this is the first case of anti-NF155 antibody-associated neuropathy in an HIV-infected patient.
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Objectives Chronic progressive neuro-Behcet's disease (CPNB) is characterized by progressive deterioration leading to disability. Methotrexate (MTX) has been shown to have beneficial effects on CPNB. However, while infliximab has been found to be effective for patients with inadequate responses to MTX, the appropriate timing for the introduction of infliximab remains unclear. ⋯ The functional disability grades after infliximab treatment were significantly correlated with the intervals from the onset of CPNB to the introduction of infliximab (r=0.6177, p=0.0476). Conclusion The results indicate that the delayed introduction of infliximab leads to irreversible functional disability in CPNB. Thus, it is recommended that infliximab be administered as soon as possible for CPNB patients with inadequate responses to MTX.
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A 33-year-old woman developed hypertensive emergency (268/168 mmHg) with renal failure and hypertensive retinopathy. Four hours after the initiation of antihypertensive therapy with the continuous infusion of nicardipine, her blood pressure (BP) decreased to 168/84 mmHg; however, the patient developed blindness. ⋯ Olmesartan was initiated on day 13, and her BP decreased to approximately 135/95 mmHg without the re-exacerbation of vision loss. Although the prognosis of PION is poor, its early diagnosis and gradual antihypertensive therapy may help preserve the patient's vision.