MYELOMATOSIS WITH XANTHOMATOSIS MULTIFORME. (33/270)

A 45-year-old man developed, apparently simultaneously, two rare conditions, xanthomatosis (with hypercholesterolemia) and myelomatosis. His blood contained very high levels of cholesterol, the major part of which was present in a markedly elevated beta-lipoprotein fraction. Studies carried out over a period of six years, utilizing electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation, determinations of chemical composition and incorporation with C(14)-labelled glutamic acid and acetate, indicated a direct association between the two conditions, the myeloma lipoprotein apparently being produced by the abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow. There were definite indications that the low density S(f) 0-12 lipoproteins were primarily involved.  (+info)

Patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia show enhanced spontaneous chemokine release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells ex vivo. Dependency of xanthomas/xanthelasms, smoking and gender. (34/270)

AIMS: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is associated with increased risk of premature atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). However, onset of clinically manifested CAD varies widely among patients with heterozygous FH, and we hypothesized that inflammatory mediators such as chemokines could contribute to atherogenesis in these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from FH patients with an identical mutation with PBMCs from sex- and age-matched healthy controls with respect to spontaneous and oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-stimulated release of chemokines. Our main findings were: (1) PBMCs from FH patients spontaneously released significantly higher levels of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, MIP-1beta and interleukin (IL)-8, and had a significantly lower oxLDL-stimulatory ratio for MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta than cells from healthy controls. (2) Spontaneous release of these chemokines correlated positively and stimulatory ratio correlated negatively with plasma concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol. (3) Among FH patients, release of MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and IL-8 from PBMCs varied with the presence of xanthomas/xanthelasms, smoking and gender. (4) In vitro studies showed that FH serum but not control serum was able to induce enhanced spontaneous release of chemokines in PBMCs from both FH patients and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Our data may suggest that a pathophysiological consequence of FH is enhanced chemokine responses, which in turn may promote recruitment and activation of leukocytes within the vessel wall, contributing to atherosclerosis as well as to the different phenotypes in these patients with an identical FH mutation.  (+info)

Sezary's syndrome and generalized plane xanthoma. (35/270)

The first case of Sezary's syndrome associated with generalized plane xanthoma is reported, thereby extending the association of lymphoreticular proliferative disorders with plane xanthomatosis. The association of Sezary's syndrome with plane xanthomatosis may be an in vivo example of defective cell regulation involving the major cellular components of the immune response.  (+info)

Native liver xanthogranulomatous cholangiopathy in primary sclerosing cholangitis: impact on posttransplant outcome. (36/270)

A retrospective analysis of 51 primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients who underwent liver transplant (LT) identified 16 with xanthogranulomatous cholangiopathy (XGC) at the native liver hilum. Pre-LT clinical and laboratory data and post-LT course and outcome of patients with XGC were compared with the 35 PSC patients without XGC. The XGC and non-XGC groups were similar with respect to age and laboratory data at the time of LT. Pre-LT cholecystectomy was performed in 44% versus 26% and biliary bypass procedure in 38% versus 26% of patients with and without XGC, respectively (P = NS). Peri-operative complications resulted in six (38%) deaths or retransplantation within 60 days of LT in the XGC group compared with 4 (11%) in the non-XGC group (P =.05). Patient survival at 60 and 100 days post-LT was better in the non-XGC group (P =.01). The causes of death or retransplantation within 60 days post-LT in the patients with XGC included primary nongraft function (1), uncontrolled bleeding (3), and sepsis (2), while in the non-XGC group these were uncontrolled bleeding (2), sepsis (1), and primary nongraft function (1). Mean graft survival +/- SD was 1,081 +/- 1,584 days in patients with XGC versus 2,149 +/- 1,679 days in patients without XGC. The presence of XGC in the native liver hilum of PSC patients undergoing LT was associated with a higher rate of early post-LT mortality or retransplantation. In conclusion, no pre-LT clinical features or laboratory tests were identified that predicted the presence of XGC in PSC patients.  (+info)

Erdheim-Chester disease: MR imaging, anatomic, and histopathologic correlation of orbital involvement. (37/270)

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare form of histiocytosis of unknown origin characterized by tissue infiltration by lipid-laden histiocytes. Typically, the diaphyseal and metaphyseal portions of the tubular bones are affected, leading to a characteristic radiographic pattern of bone sclerosis. Orbital involvement is not infrequent and is manifested by exophthalmos and periorbital xanthomatous lesions, with associated visual problems. This case report documents imaging and pathologic findings in a patient with ECD with extensive orbital involvement.  (+info)

Enhanced susceptibility of LDL to oxidative modification in a CTX patient:- role of chenodeoxycholic acid in xanthoma formation. (38/270)

Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is a rare familial sterol storage disease, causing multiple xanthomas in tendons and the brain. The underlying biochemical defect is a lack of the hepatic mitochondrial cholesterol 27-hydroxylase involved in the normal biosynthesis of bile acid, resulting in reduced biosynthesis of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). It has been reported that administration of CDCA to CTX patients improves neurological disorders and xanthomas of the Achilles tendon. The present study investigated the effect of CDCA on the mechanism of cholesterol accumulation in macrophages, the major cells in xanthoma. The LDL from the patients in this study was significantly more susceptible to oxidative modification than normal LDL, and supplement therapy with CDCA resulted in an improvement in the susceptibility to oxidative modification. In the incubation of CDCA with plasma, 13% of the CDCA added to serum was recovered in the LDL fraction. In addition, supplementation with CDCA enhanced cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity and reduced high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the plasma. This evidence suggests that the multiple xanthomas observed in CTX may be induced by increased oxidized LDL and the low activity of CETP, both of which are caused by a lack of CDCA.  (+info)

Xanthelasma and lipoma in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. (39/270)

The painting Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Paris, by Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506), shows skin alterations at the inner end of the left upper eyelid similar to xanthelasma, and a swelling of the dorsum of the right hand suggestive of a subcutaneous lipoma. These findings in a 25-30 year old woman, who died at the age of 37, may be indicative of essential hyperlipidemia, a strong risk factor for ischemic heart disease in middle age. As far as is known, this portrait of Mona Lisa painted in 1506 is the first evidence that xanthelasma and lipoma were prevalent in the sixteenth century, long before the first description by Addison and Gall in 1851.  (+info)

Phenotypic heterogeneity of sitosterolemia. (40/270)

Sitosterolemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of lipoprotein metabolism characterized by xanthomas and increased plasma concentrations of plant sterols, such as sitosterol. Causative mutations occur in either the ABCG5 or ABCG8 gene, each of which encodes a sterol half-transporter expressed in the intestine. We report five Canadian subjects with nonsense mutations in these half-transporters: four related Caucasian subjects were homozygous for the ABCG8 S107X mutation, and one unrelated Japanese-Canadian subject was homozygous for a complex insertion/deletion (I/D) mutation in ABCG5 exon 3. A female subject with each mutation was symptomatic with coronary atherosclerosis: a 5-year-old ABCG8 S107X homozygote and a 75-year-old ABCG5 exon 3 I/D homozygote; these represent the extreme ends of the spectrum of vascular involvement in sitosterolemia. The largest reductions in plasma concentrations of sitosterol and LDL-cholesterol were seen with ezetimibe or bile acid sequestrant treatment, and less dramatic reductions were seen with statin drug treatment. These findings extend the range of clinical phenotypes in sitosterolemia caused by nonsense mutations in either ABCG5 or ABCG8.  (+info)