Internal medicine
-
A 50-year-old man presented to our hospital with a fever, edema, and a rash. The clinical diagnosis was renal dysfunction, nephrotic syndrome, and syphilis. The patient was treated with benzylpenicillin, and his symptoms improved. ⋯ Recently, neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) was reported to be an antigen corresponding to syphilis-associated MN. In the present patient, immunofluorescence staining and immunoelectron microscopy revealed granular NDNF-positive findings within subepithelial deposits, suggesting the presence of NDNF-IgG immune complexes. Although the mechanism by which NDNF serves as a target antigen remains unclear, NDNF was found to colocalize within subepithelial immune complexes in syphilis-associated MN.
-
In hemodialysis-related portal-systemic encephalopathy (HRPSE), transient negative pressure in the inferior vena cava (IVC) during dialysis increases the blood flow through a portal-systemic shunt, leading to encephalopathy. We report the case of a 74-year-old man with a gastrorenal shunt who developed HRPSE for the first time following venous occlusion due to thrombosis around a right femoral tunneled-cuffed hemodialysis catheter. ⋯ Conversely, after the thrombosis was dissolved, the ammonia levels decreased after dialysis. We hypothesized that venous stasis in the right lower limb due to thrombosis intensified the negative pressure in the IVC during dialysis, triggering HRPSE.
-
An 83-year-old man presented with persistent fever after intravesical BCG therapy for bladder cancer. Chest computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy revealed diffuse ground-glass opacities with multiple micronodules and lymphocyte-predominant bronchoalveolar lavage fluid with a high CD4/CD8 ratio, respectively. ⋯ Fifty days post-admission, Mycobacterium bovis BCG was identified in the initial sputum cultures. Concomitant interstitial pneumonia and BCG infection should be considered in patients with abnormal chest imaging following intravesical BCG therapy.
-
A 63-year-old previously healthy man participated in a longitudinal epidemiologic study of dementia and aging. Although he initially showed no subjective symptoms and a normal motor function, verbal fluency test scores gradually declined, and progressive atrophy of the frontal lobes was observed on magnetic resonance imaging of the head. At 71 years old, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) was diagnosed after supranuclear gaze palsy, and gait disturbance developed. This longitudinal epidemiological study suggests that verbal symptoms and mild frontal lobe atrophy may be evident in the premotor phase of PSP.