A Case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome Following Plasmodium vivax infection

A 28-year-old male was admitted to our medical center with general myalgia and fever. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with P. vivax malaria. On the 5th hospital day, the patient complained of tingling sensation on both hands and feet, which acutely progressed to ascending symmetric motor paralysis. Nerve conduction velocity test and cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed albumino-cytologic dissociation, suggesting polyradiculopathy, and thus he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. After 5-day treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, and antificial ventilator therapy the patient fully recovered. In the literature, only 22 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with Plasmodium have been reported; 19 cases were caused by Plasmodium falciparum and 3 were by P. vivax. Herein, we report the first case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome associated with P. vivax malaria in Korea.

Gender Difference on Corpus Callosum in Korean Adults / 체질인류학회지

Corpus callsoum (CC) is the largest commissural fiber connecting the cerebral hemispheres. The gender difference in the size or the shape of CC is a long standing dispute. Some reported that adult female CC had more bulbous splenium and larger area considering brain size, but others failed to replicate this findings. There is no definite consensus on sexual dimorphism of CC yet, although extensive studies on sexual dimorphism has been expected to provide a clue to explain sociopsychological differences between male and female. This variable results are attributed to limited number of subjects, measured parameters, and method of measurement. We have employed comprehensive analytic parameters with large subjects to understand gender differences on CC of healthy Korean adults. We have analyzed the magnetic resonance image (MRI) in adults free from neurological disorders. The subjects were composed of 108 young people (3rd decade; male : 51, female : 57). Total area, its 5 sub-areas, linear parameters including height, length, and width and five specific angles of the CC were measured on the midsagittal MR images with NIH Image program (R) (Ver 1.6). The gender differences were observed in the area of splenium and length in the group. The male CC have larger splenium and longer length than female. The angle between neural axis and base of corpus callosum in female was significantly larger than that of male. This study reports not only gender difference of adult CC, but Korean adult standard morphometric data of CC research. These results might serve a useful basic data for various research in the fields of neuroanatomy, neuroradiology, and neuropsychiatry.

A Case of Rhabdomyolysis and Acute Renal Failure Associated with Mitochondrial Myopathy / 대한신장학회잡지

Mitochondrial myopathies are diseases caused by defects in metabolic pathway of mitochondria. Mitochondrial myopathy is known as one of the causes of recurrent myoglobinuria, while clinically, rarely causes acute renal failure requiring medical treatments. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure associated with mitochondrial myopathy. A 58-year-old male was presented with dyspnea and hypotensive shock. The patient had a history of recurrent dark colored urine and cramping leg pain after prolonged fasting. Laboratory findings showed hyperkalemia, azotemia, metabolic acidosis, and elevated AST, ALT, and creatinine kinase. He had no history of trauma or medication. Muscle biopsy showed "ragged red fibers" in modified Gomori staining. On electron microscope, increased number of mitochondria and abnormal mitochondria were seen. He received hemodialysis and his renal function recovered after 1 month.

Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Associated with Gangliocytoma: A Case of Surgical Treatment

We report a case of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome successfully treated by the removal of hippocampal gangliocytoma. A17-year-old girl was admitted due to intractable tonic seizure, generalized tonic clonic seizure, and frequent fallingdespite the administration of polypharmacotherapy. She was mentally retarded and had developmental delays. She had the first seizure at the age of 12 months and the pattern of seizures seemed to be drop attacks. Electroencephalogram (EEG) showed background slowing of about 7 Hz, multifocal spike and wave, and generalized spike and wave complex-es (1.5~3.5 Hz). Magnetic resonance image (MRI) revealed a small polycystic mass in the left parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampal atrophy. A left hippocampectomy and total resection of the tumor was performed. Histopathologically, the cysts were identical to gangliocytoma. Sixth months later, the frequency of seizures decreased to once a month No seizures have been reported since August 1998.

A Case of Internal Carotid Artery Dissection Presenting with Isolated Hypoglossal Nerve Palsy

Neurological manifestations of internal carotid aretry (ICA) dissection include amaurosis fugax, cerebral ischemia, oculosympathetic paresis, and various cranial nerve palsies. Isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy is a rare manifestation of ICA dissection. A 55-year-old man developed dysarthria following sudden pain in the left retroauricular area. His tongue was paralysed on the left side. Magnetic resonance image and carotid angiogram showed characteristic features of left ICA dissection, which may be the most plausible cause of hypoglossal nerve palsy in this patient. Expanding hematoma of dissecting aneurysm of ICA seems to have compressed the nutrient artery of the hypoglossal nerve, although the possibility of direct compression of the hypoglossal nerve itself is not completely ruled out.

A case of Neuro-Behcet's disease with CNS lesions confined to multiple cortical areas

We report a patient diagnosed with neuro-Behcet's disease showing multiple enhancing lesions on a brain MRI that were confined to the cerebral cortex without any involvement of other brain regions. The patient, a 30-year-old man, was admitted because of seizure attacks. He had the symptom triad of recurrent oral ulcer, genital ulcer, and uveitis. Neurologic symptoms included ataxia, dysarthria, and dementia which had progressed over several years. During the hospital course, he underwent a right hemicolectomy due to bowel perforation. A pathological examination showed multiple discrete ulcerations from the cecum to the mid-transverse colon, consistent with Behcet's colitis. A brain MRI revealed multiple small enhancing lesions distributed over wide areas of the cerebral cortex. To our knowledge, this pattern of lesion distribution has not yet been reported in neuro-Behcet's disease.