Mitochondria
Monthly
Life
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CPEO
Case Study
On December 8th, 2010, a 44-year-old Chinese man arrived at a hospital complaining of having bilateral ptosis (figure 1) and diplopia (double vision) for around 20 years. Over the years he developed a limitation of eye movement and little exercise intolerance, however, he had no obvious limb weakness. As he approached the age of 41, his disease worsened. He developed severe bulbar paralysis, resulting in difficulty swallowing and weakened neck muscles. The patient also suffered from double vision, muscle weakness in the face and decreased ability to show facial expressions. After a neurological examination was performed, the patient showed muscle weakness, bilateral ptosis and the paralysis of muscles around the eye with eyeball fixation. Another laboratory examination revealed elevated lactate levels and pyruvic acid.
figure 1
Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia with inflammatory myopathy. (2014). Retrieved January 02, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4314000/figure/fig01/
Bilateral Ptosis: the drooping of the upper eyelid
Bulbar Paralysis: loss or impairment of motor function in the muscles or brain
Pyruvic Acid: plays a role in metabloic and fermentation processes
PCR: a lab technique used to make millions of copies of a specific section of DNA
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Definitions
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