An Autopsy Case of Elderly Onset Brainstem Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which is a disease that causes multifocal inflammatory demyelination of the central nervous system, occurs predominantly in children and young adults. We report an autopsy case of an elderly man with brainstem ADEM that progressed over a period of about 3 months. An 82-year-old man developed disturbance of consciousness, dysphagia, and ataxic gait over a period of about 3 months. He was admitted to another hospital for aspiration pneumonia and recovered but was transferred to our hospital due to prolonged disturbance of consciousness. The patient was able to follow simple commands but had a tendency to somnolence. In addition to meningeal stimulation signs, the patient had left-dominant upper and lower limb ataxia and right-dominant limb spasticity. Brain FLAIR/T2-weighted imaging showed high-intensity lesions from the brainstem to the middle cerebellar peduncle bilaterally, medulla oblongata and upper cervical spinal cord, and T1-weighted imaging revealed contrast-enhanced lesions in the left middle cerebellar peduncle and cervical spinal cord. Although spinal fluid examination revealed elevated proteins, other laboratory tests indicated no evidence of infection, vasculitis, collagen diseases or tumors, and anti-ganglioside, anti-AQP4 and anti-MOG antibodies were negative. After admission, the patient again developed aspiration pneumonia, which progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and he died on the 15th day of hospitalization. Autopsy findings indicated acute and subacute demyelination mainly in the brainstem and cerebellum, and perivascular lymphocyte and macrophage infiltration in the areas of demyelination. A postmortem diagnosis of ADEM was made based on the generally monophasic course of the disease and the absence of regenerating myelinated sheaths. There are very few reports of elderly patients with brainstem ADEM. ADEM should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with brainstem encephalitis.

Infectious diseases in solid organ transplant recipients: Analysis of autopsied cases in Japan

BACKGROUND

With the improvements in immunosuppressive agents and graft survival, infections such as mycoses have become major complications after solid organ transplantation (SOT).

METHODS

Our group has continuously updated an epidemiological database of visceral mycoses (VM) among autopsy cases in Japan since 1989. Data on infectious agents and clinical information were complied using similar procedures.

RESULTS

Among the all autopsied cases studied, 356 undergone SOT. Of these, 214 (60.1%) suffered from one or more types of infections, including 51 (14.3%) with VM. Thus, the incidence of VM was higher in SOT recipients than in non-transplanted cases (P < 0.0001). Aspergillus spp. (Asp) was the most predominant agent and Candida spp. was second. Specifically, among SOT recipients, Asp was the most predominant in liver and lung transplant recipients. Among the 217 autopsied liver transplants cases, the incidence of VM was highest in those with fulminant hepatitis (FH, P = 0.01). The incidence of cytomegalovirus infection tended to be higher in cases with mycosis (P = 0.06). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified FH (odds ratio, 3.61, 95% confidence interval 1.34-9.75; P = 0.03) as an independent risk factor for mycosis in liver transplant recipients.

CONCLUSION

This epidemiological analysis of autopsied cases provides a strong incentive to intensify efforts to diagnose and treat post-SOT infectious diseases.