Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction occurs infrequently, and its occurrence following percutaneous coronary intervention is extremely rare. Due to the high mortality rate of myocardial infarction and the disability of Guillain-Barre syndrome, early identification of Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction and early intervention can decrease the mortality rate, lead to early recovery, and provide a better outcome. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we reported a rare case of Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. The patient was a 75-year-old woman from China who was admitted to hospital due to sudden loss of consciousness. Electrocardiography showed acute myocardial infarction in the right ventricle and inferior and posterior walls. The patient underwent emergency percutaneous intervention of the posterior collateral artery of the right coronary artery. Soon after, her condition worsened resulting in limb weakness and numbness. Unfortunately, she continued to develop respiratory failure, and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and ventilator-assisted breathing. A physical examination showed hypotonia of all four limbs, complete quadriplegia, bulbar palsy, dysarthria, and tendon areflexia. Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G anti-ganglioside antibody analysis was positive with anti-GT1a antibodies (+ +), anti-GM1 antibodies ( +), anti-GM2 antibodies ( +), and anti-GM4 antibodies ( +), and he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction. She was discharged due to poor response to treatment. The patient died two days after being discharged. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial infarction and/or percutaneous coronary intervention may activate immune-mediated response and cause severe complications. Clinician should be alert to Guillain-Barre syndrome after myocardial infarction and/or percutaneous coronary intervention.

Apolipoprotein E gene variants of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia patients in a community population of Nanking.

To explore apolipoprotein E gene variants distribution among the patients of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia for the elderly community population in Nanking, the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques were employed to analyze the gene frequency of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) for 113 cases with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 85 cases with vascular dementia (VaD), 147 cases with questionable dementia (QD), and 396 dementia-free controls. It was found that ApoE ε4 gene container (37.17%) and allele frequency (21.24 ± 2.72) of ApoE ε4 in AD group were significantly higher than those in both control and VaD group (p < 0.05). With the increment of ε4 gene dose, the incidence of the AD was significantly increased. Compared with the control group, ApoE ε4 had risk ratio (RR) of 1.82 to develop AD (p = 4e-4), and attributable risk percentage (ARP) of 45%. These results suggest that ApoE ε4 gene may be responsible for up to 45% of the genetic component of Alzheimer's disease, and may act as a discriminator between AD and VaD as well.

[Effect of the oil from ganoderma lucidum spores on pathological changes in the substantia nigra and behaviors of MPTP-treated mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the oil from the spores of ganoderma lucidum, a rare Chinese herb, on the behaviors and pathological changes in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in mouse models of Parkinson's disease (PD) induced by MPTP. METHODS: C57BL mice were divided into 3 groups, and the ganoderma spores oil + MPTP group were treated with ganoderma spores oil for 8 days, together with subcutaneous injection of MPTP (30 mg/kg) starting on the third day for 6 days; MPTP group were pretreated with normal saline before subcutaneous MPTP injection, and the normal control group received pretreatment with normal saline before subcutaneous normal saline injection. The behavioral changes of the mice in different groups were observed by pole test, dopamine and its metabolic products in the striatum determined by HPLC, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells detected by immunofluorescence method, and expression of TH protein by Western blotting. RESULTS: The mice in the ganoderma spores oil + MPTP group presented significantly less involuntary movement of the limbs in the pole test than the mice in MPTP group. The levels of dopamine and DOPAC in the striatum of ganoderma spores oil-treated mice were increased as compared with those in MPTP group. The number of surviving TH-positive neurons in SNpc of mice in ganoderma spores oil + MPTP group was significantly greater than that in MPTP group, with also significantly increased TH protein expression. CONCLUSION: Ganoderma spores oil has neuroprotective effect for preventing doparminergic neuron from impairment by MPTP.

[Expressions of Abeta1-40, Abeta1-42, tau202, tau396 and tau404 after intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of streptozotocin (STZ) on the expressions of Abeta and hyperphosphorylation of tau protein in rat brain. METHODS: Twenty-four adult SD rats were randomized into 2 groups to receive ICV of STZ bilaterally at the dose of 3 mg/kg (with the injection repeated on day 3) or normal saline injection in an identical manner. Twenty-one days later, the expressions of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42), tau(202), tau(396) and tau(404) were investigated immunohistochemically. RESULTS: After STZ administration, the expressions of Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42), tau(202), tau(396) and tau(404) increased in both the cortex and hippocampus in the rat brain. CONCLUSION: ICV injection of STZ increases the expression of Abeta and promotes hyerphosphorylation of tau protein.