Hyperhomocysteinemia Association With Transient Global Amnesia: A Rare Case Report.

CONTEXT: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is an intriguing condition that classically presents with an abrupt onset of temporary complete anterograde amnesia and partial retrograde amnesia. Most individuals who experience such a form of amnesia usually have only one attack but recurrent attacks are possible. Most attacks last for a few minutes or few hours and the ability to lay down new memories may also be affected but gradually improves, leaving only a dense amnestic gap for the duration of the episode. There has been some discussion about the etiology behind TGA; however, there has yet to be a consensus with regard to any significant association. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 65-year-old male presenting with a sudden onset of memory loss that is typical of TGA and who was found to have elevated homocysteine levels. There has only been one other case previously reported that discussed a possible correlation between hyperhomocysteinemia and TGA. It is yet to be determined if increased homocysteine level is a significant risk factor for attacks of TGA. CONCLUSION: Although it was first described more than half a century ago, it can still be misdiagnosed frequently as many physicians are not familiar with this condition. Furthermore, there are quite a few medical conditions that may cause sudden memory impairment, such as epilepsy and stroke, which make it difficult to distinguish them from this form of amnesia. The knowledge of these clinical identities is necessary for a high index of suspicion, which may lead to a meticulous medical evaluation as required for proper diagnosis.

Elevated erythropoietin and multicystic neoplasm of the pancreas.

Cystic lesions of the pancreas are more frequently recognized due to the widespread use of improved imaging techniques. There are a variety of pancreatic cystic lesions with different clinical presentations and malignant potentials, and their management depends on the type of the cysts. Although the early recognition of a cystic neoplasm with malignant potential provides an opportunity of early surgical treatment, the precise diagnosis of the cystic neoplasm can be a challenge, largely due to the lack of reliable biomarkers of malignant transformation. We report a case of a large, multicystic neoplasm within the body and tail of the pancreas complicated by elevated erythropoietin, which is likely related to the malignant transformation of the pancreatic neoplasm.

Multiple myeloma and atopic eczema in an adult.

Multiple myeloma is the fourteenth cause of cancer-related death. The symptoms of myeloma are mostly nonspecific, and there is significant delay between the first symptoms and diagnosis of myeloma. Atopic eczema is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with dysregulation of the immune system. It generally develops in early childhood but can also occur in adults. Eczema is associated with a variety of hematological and solid malignancies, and possibly multiple myeloma. We report a patient with eczema that developed 5 years before the diagnosis of multiple myeloma but was mistaken for psoriasis.

How early can pancreatic cancer be recognized? A case report and review of the literature.

The early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are often very vague. They may precede the diagnosis by years and go unrecognized. This makes pancreatic cancer one of the cancers with the worst survival rates. The progression rate of the early phase might be slower than previously thought. Here, we report a case where symptoms, including thromboembolism and new-onset diabetes mellitus, preceded the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by 6 years or longer. The awareness of the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer is required for being vigilant and further diagnostic tests. A simple clinical model utilizing certain risk factors and symptoms for pancreatic cancer will help stratify the patients for further screening tests.

Volume quantification of intracardiac mass lesions by transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography.

As compared with two-dimensional (2-D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), 3-D echocardiography now permits more realistic visualization of cardiac anatomy and of intracardiac lesions. The aim of this study was to apply newer 3-D echocardiographic techniques to quantify volumes of intracardiac masses undergoing surgical resection seen during an intraoperative TEE. The calculated volumes were compared with actual in vitro measurements of surgically resected masses. A total of 14 patients (9 men; 5 women; age range between 21 and 77 years) with intracardiac mass lesions (4 tumors: 3 left atrial myxomas and 1 mitral valve fibroelastoma, and 10 vegetations: 5 aortic valve, 3 mitral valve, 1 tricuspid and 1 pulmonary valve) were studied. Using commercially available 3-D reconstruction software (TomTec v. 4.1), the volumes of intracardiac masses were estimated using both the average rotation (rotation around the long axis, AR) and disk summation (parallel short axis cuts, DS) methods. Volumes of these lesions were also measured in vitro by water submersion. They ranged from 0.20 mL to 24 mL (mean +/- SD = 8.07 +/- 9.21 mL). Both 3-D TEE AR and 3-D TEE DS calculated volumes correlated excellently with in vitro measured volumes (r = 1.00 and r = 0.98, respectively, p = < 0.0001). The correlation between 3-D TEE AR and 3-D TEE DS calculated volumes was also excellent (r = 0.98, p = < 0.0001). In conclusion, the volume assessments by 3-D TEE of intracardiac mass lesions correlated well with in vitro measured volumes of surgical specimens. This technique may prove to be valuable in further defining intracardiac pathology and is a further advancement toward the application of clinically useful 3-D echocardiography.

Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic demonstration of intraatrial baffle obstruction.

We report an adult patient with transposition of the great arteries status post-Mustard procedure in whom three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated intraatrial baffle obstruction. The baffle could be visualized in both long-axis and "en face" short-axis views.

Contrast transesophageal echocardiographic detection of a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation draining into left lower pulmonary vein.

We report the identification of a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation draining into the left lower pulmonary vein by contrast two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in an adult with no evidence of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. To our knowledge, this has not been reported previously. This study also emphasizes the importance of transesophageal echocardiographic examination of the left lower pulmonary vein in the detection of a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation.

Transesophageal echocardiographic identification of right vertebral artery.

We describe a transesophageal technique for identifying the origin and precervical course of the right vertebral artery with the probe positioned in the upper esophagus. The technique was successful in 9 of 11 patients in whom it was attempted.

Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic demonstration of intraatrial baffle obstruction.

We report an adult patient with transposition of the great arteries status post-Mustard procedure in whom three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated intraatrial baffle obstruction. The baffle could be visualized in both long-axis and "en face" short-axis views.

Usefulness of transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography in the identification of individual segment/scallop prolapse of the mitral valve.

We evaluated the potential usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in assessing individual scallop/segment prolapse in 36 adult patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) undergoing surgical correction. Intraoperative 3D TEE correctly identified the location of scallop/segment prolapse in 34 of 36 patients (94%). However, in 6 of these patients 3D TEE images revealed more scallops or segments with prolapse than the surgeon noted intraoperatively. Prolapse of these areas was less prominent and this could possibly explain the lack of correlation with the surgical findings in these patients. In another 2 patients areas of prolapse seen by the surgeon were missed by 3D TEE because some of those scallops/segments could not be well imaged due to image "drop out" and artifacts. Thus, perfect correlation between 3D TEE and surgery was noted in 28 of 36 (78%) patients. Noncoaptation of the MV was also identified in 2 patients. The prolapsed area of posterior (n = 28 observations) and anterior (n = 9 observations) MV leaflets ranged from 1 cm2 to 9 cm2 (mean 3.50 cm2+/- 2.14) and 1.20 cm2 to 5.99 cm2 (mean 3.21 cm2+/- 1.33), respectively. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement for location and area of MVP was excellent (r = 0.97 and r = 0.99, respectively; all P values are <0.0001). In conclusion, 3D TEE is useful in identifying the location of MVP. It may also be potentially useful in assessing the extent of individual scallop/segment prolapse and identifying sites of MV noncoaptation. This information could aid the surgeon in deciding the extent of MV resection.