Thursday, October 8, 2009

RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a chronic condition, with onset at any age, characterized by urgency to move the legs and unpleasant sensations, worsening at rest and in the evening and relieved by the movement. Pharmacological approaches, including benzodiazepines, dopaminoagonists, levodopa and antiepileptics, showed substantial inter-individual variability of efficacy and side effects. We report the case of a woman who did not respond to any previous pharmacological treatment, successfully treated with hydroxyzine hydrochloride. The efficacy of this first-generation antihistamine with potent anticholinergic properties in our RLS case may resemble the action of several anticholinergic drugs in Parkinson Disease, reasserting the possibility of a common pathophysiological background shared by these two distinct clinical entities.


Introduction

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent neurological disorder characterized by nocturnal motor restlessness accompanied by lower limb paresthesias usually alleviated by the activity.
Epidemiological studies have estimated a prevalence of around 4-10% in the general population 1].
Several observations suggest the presence of a dopaminergic dysfunction in RLS 1,2]. The differential diagnosis includes the neuroleptic-induced akathisia, polyneuropathies, the meralgia paresthetica and the nocturnal leg cramps.
While prochlorperazine, metoclopramide, neuroleptics and some antidepressants have been reported to exacerbate RLS, various classes of drugs showed beneficial effects, and ferrum replacement may be effective in iron-deficient patients [2]. No previous reports indicated the potential application of hydroxyzine hydrocloride in RLS. We present the case of a patient suffering from RLS, not responding to common drugs, successfully treated with hydroxyzine hydrocloride.

STURGE WEBER SYNDROME

a congenital neurocutaneous disease marked by a port-wine-colored capillary hemangioma over a sensory dermatome of a branch of the trigeminal nerve of the face.
Radiographic examination of the skull reveals intracranial calcification. The cerebral cortex may atrophy, and generalized or focal seizures, angioma of the choroid, secondary glaucoma, optic atrophy, and new cutaneous hemangiomas may develop. There is no known cure. Treatment is supportive and includes anticonvulsive medication.
Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS) or also called encephalotrigeminal angiomatosis is a congenital, non-familial disorder of unknown incidence and cause, which is characterized by a congenital port-wine nevus (facial birthmark) leptomenigeal angiomatosis, and glaucoma; it is commonly complicated by epilepsy and hemiparesis. Other symptoms associated with SWS can include eye and internal organ irregularities. Each case of SWS is unique and exhibits the characterizing findings to varying degrees.
The most apparent indication of SWS is a facial birthmark or “Port Wine Stain” (PWS) present at birth and typically involving at least one upper eyelid and the forehead. Much variation in the size of the stain has been reported and may be limited to one side of the face or may involve both sides. The stain, varying from light pink to deep purple, is due to an overabundance of capillaries just beneath the surface of the involved skin. In persons with dark pigmentation, the stain may be difficult to recognize. In rare instances, there is an absence of a PWS. Atypical presentations such as: intracranial venous anomalies, soft tissue hypertrophy, phakomatosis pigmentovascularis, overlapped Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (cutaneous hemangiomas, venous varicosities and soft tissue or bone hypertrophy of the affected extremities), headache and epilepsy, and an acute life-threatening event have been reported to the medical literature.
SWS is referred to as complete when both CNS and facial angiomas are present and incomplete when only one area is affected without the other.
The Roach Scale is used for classification, as follows:  
Type I: This is the most common presentation with facial and leptomeningeal angiomas. Glaucoma may be present. Ocular involvement is normally noted within the first year of life. The sclera may appear “bloodshot” as a result of the over-proliferation of blood vessels on the eye. In rare cases, the facial and brain involvement are bilateral (involving both sides of the head). Mental and physical development can be impaired to varying degrees, depending on the degree of vascular malformation throughout the brain and eye. 
Type 2: This type involves a facial angioma and the possibility of glaucoma, but no evidence of intracranial disease. There is no specific time-frame for the exhibition of symptoms beyond the initial recognition of the facial PWS. Throughout the life of the individual, interrelated symptoms may manifest in glaucoma, cerebral blood flow abnormalities, headaches, and various other complications. Additional research needs to be conducted on this type of SWS to determine the course of the syndrome over its natural progression. 
Type 3: This type of SWS is commonly noted to have a leptomeningeal angioma, with no facial involvement and usually no development of glaucoma. Commonly referred to as forme fruste, this type is identified with brain scans. It can also be confused with other diagnoses prior to a brain scan with contrasting agent.
While social stigma is lessened by the absence of PWS, the unknown natural course of the syndrome is still frustrating for parents and professionals treating the condition.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

LIST OF RARE DISEASES

 Acrocephalosyndactylia
 Acrodermatitis
 Addison Disease
 Adie Syndrome
 Alagille Syndrome
 Amylose
 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
 Angelman Syndrome
 Angina Pectoris, Variant
 Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia
 Arnold-Chiari Malformation
 Arthritis, Juvenile Rheumatoid
 Asperger Syndrome
 Bardet-Biedl Syndrome
 Barrett Esophagus
 Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome
 Behcet Syndrome
 Bloom Syndrome
 Bowen's Disease
 Brachial Plexus Neuropathies
 Brown-Sequard Syndrome
 Burkitt Lymphoma
 Carcinoma 256, Walker
 Caroli Disease
 Chagas Disease
 Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
 Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
 Chiari-Frommel Syndrome
 Chondrodysplasia Punctata
 Choreatic Disorders
 Churg-Strauss Syndrome
 Colonic Pseudo-Obstruction
 Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis
 Craniofacial Dysostosis
 Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome
 Crohn Disease
 Cushing Syndrome
 Dandy-Walker Syndrome
 De Lange Syndrome
 Dementia, Vascular
 Dermatitis Herpetiformis
 DiGeorge Syndrome
 Diffuse Cerebral Sclerosis of Schilder
 Duane Retraction Syndrome
 Dupuytren's Contracture
 Dysautonomia, Familial
 Ebstein's Anomaly
 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
 Eisenmenger Complex
 Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome
 Encephalitis
 Enchondromatosis
 Epidermal Necrolysis, Toxic
 Facial Hemiatrophy
 Factor XII Deficiency
 Fanconi Anemia
 Felty's Syndrome
 Fibrous Dysplasia, Polyostotic
 Fox-Fordyce Disease
 Friedreich Ataxia
 Fusobacterium
 Gardner Syndrome
 Gaucher Disease
 Gerstmann Syndrome
 Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia
 Glycogen Storage Disease Type I
 Glycogen Storage Disease Type II
 Glycogen Storage Disease Type IV
 Glycogen Storage Disease Type V
 Glycogen Storage Disease Type VII
 Goldenhar Syndrome
 Guillain-Barre Syndrome
 Hallermann's Syndrome
 Hallervorden-Spatz Syndrome
 Hamartoma Syndrome, Multiple
 Hartnup Disease
 Hepatic Vein Thrombosis
 Hepatolenticular Degeneration
 Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathies
 Hippel-Lindau Disease
 Hirschsprung Disease
 Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis
 Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell
 Histiocytosis, Sinus
 Hodgkin Disease
 Horner Syndrome
 Huntington Disease
 Hyperaldosteronism
 Hyperostosis, Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal
 Hypopituitarism
 Inappropriate ADH Syndrome
 Intestinal Polyps
 Isaacs Syndrome
 Kartagener Syndrome
 Kearns-Sayer Syndrome
 Keratosis Follicularis
 Klippel-Feil Syndrome
 Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome
 Kluver-Bucy Syndrome
 Korsakoff Syndrome
 Lafora Disease
 Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome
 Landau-Kleffner Syndrome
 Langer-Giedion Syndrome
 Leigh Disease
 Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
 Leukodystrophy, Globoid Cell
 Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
 Long QT Syndrome
 Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell
 Machado-Joseph Disease
 Mallory-Weiss Syndrome
 Marek Disease
 Marfan Syndrome
 Meckel Diverticulum
 Meige Syndrome
 Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome
 Meniere's Disease
 Mikulicz' Disease
 Miller Fisher Syndrome
 Mobius Syndrome
 Moyamoya Disease
 Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome
 Mucopolysaccharidosis I
 Mucopolysaccharidosis II
 Mucopolysaccharidosis III
 Mucopolysaccharidosis IV
 Mucopolysaccharidosis VI
 Mullerian Ducts
 Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1
 Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
 Muscular Atrophy, Spinal
 Neuroaxonal Dystrophies
 Neuromyelitis Optica
 Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses
 Niemann-Pick Diseases
 Noonan Syndrome
 Optic Atrophies, Hereditary
 Osteitis Deformans
 Osteochondritis
 Osteochondrodysplasias
 Osteolysis, Essential
 Paget's Disease, Extramammary
 Paget's Disease, Mammary
 Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative
 Papillon-Lefevre Disease
 Paralysis
 Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease
 Pemphigus, Benign Familial
 Penile Induration
 Pericarditis, Constrictive
 Peroxisomal Disorders
 Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome
 Pick Disease of the Brain
 Pierre Robin Syndrome
 Pigmentation Disorders
 Pityriasis Lichenoides
 Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
 Polyendocrinopathies, Autoimmune
 Prader-Willi Syndrome
 Pulmonary Fibrosis
 Pupil Disorders
 Raynaud Disease
 Reiter Syndrome
 Rett Syndrome
 Reye Syndrome
 Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome
 Sandhoff Disease
 Sarcoma, Ewing's
 Scheuermann's Disease
 Shwartzman Phenomenon
 Shy-Drager Syndrome
 Sjogren's Syndrome
 Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome
 Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome
 Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood
 Sturge-Weber Syndrome
 Sweating, Gustatory
 Sweet's Syndrome
 Takayasu's Arteritis
 Tangier Disease
 Tay-Sachs Disease
 Thromboangiitis Obliterans
 Thyroiditis, Autoimmune
 Tietze's Syndrome
 Togaviridae Infections
 Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome
 Tourette Syndrome
 Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome
 Waardenburg's Syndrome
 Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
 Wegener Granulomatosis
 Weil Disease
 Werner Syndrome
 Williams Syndrome
 Wilms Tumor
 Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
 Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
 Wolfram Syndrome
 Wolman Disease
 Zellweger Syndrome
 Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome
 von Willebrand Disease