“Sporadic Late-onset Nemaline

Myopathy” (SLONM) Clinical Manifestations: SLONM affects both sexes equally at ages ranging from 20 to 50. The most common clinical syndrome is one of proximal limb weakness of subacute onset and progression, sometimes severe and disabling. The neck extensors may be affected, resulting in the dropped head syndrome. Dysphagia and respiratory failure may appear. Tendon reflexes are usually absent. Fasciculation is not often seen but may be. Sometimes Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical there is evidence of a second muscle disorder, which may be dermatomyositis or polymyositis. Progressive external ophthalmoplegia was reported in two PD98059 patients (5, 6). The association with HIV was first Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical described by Dalakas and associates (7). It is not clear how often patients with nemaline disease are HIV-positive. Laboratory Findings: Diagnostic studies are usually indicative of myopathy but sometimes show evidence of denervation. By definition, the muscle biopsy must show the deposits, which are seen as dark red. At the Mayo Clinic, Chahin et al. (2) examined 3-μm-thick frozen sections stained trichromatically or immunostained

for α-actinin or myotilin. Electron microscopy in 12 cases identified the rods in all and revealed additional structural abnormalities. CK values were normal or low. Seven of their 14 patients had monoclonal gammopathy and were followed for 1 to 5 years; five died Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of respiratory failure. Five patients without monoclonal gammopathy were followed for 4 to 23 years and none died of the disease. The presence of gammopathy therefore may be ominous. HIV was excluded in 3 of 6 patients and the other 3 were deemed to have no HIV risk factors. In other Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical reports, a patient with monoclonal gammopathy had features of both nemaline disease and “trabecular” or “lobulated” muscle fibers as well as biclonal gammopathy (8). Another patient was being treated for dermatomyositis when muscle biopsy

showed nemaline rods (9). Therapy: Immunosuppressive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical therapy with melphalan, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) or both may be helpful (2, 10-12) . Prednisone is sometimes effective (13, 14) but was uniformly ineffective in the Mayo report (2). Autologous stem therapy MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit has also brought benefit (15, 16). Long term immunosuppression with rituximab may be considered. Physical therapy is also indicated to maintain gait and general strength. HIV and Motor Neuron Diseases In 1985, the fourth year of the emerging AIDS epidemic, Hoffman et al. (17) described a 26 year old man with both upper and lower motor neuron signs. He was still alive a year later. Many feared there would be an epidemic of viral ALS. However, that fear was never realized. By mid-2002, there had been reports of 19 patients with motor neuron disorders, with no evidence that HIV infection increases the likelihood of developing ALS. 13 of the 19 clearly had a disorder that was unlike ALS in one major way, the rapidity of progression.