title: The POEMS syndrome among Chinese: association with Castleman's disease and some immunological abnormalities.
abstract: POEMS or Crow-Fukase syndrome is a multisystemic, clinically malignant disorder of obscure etiology. Peripheral neuropathy and plasma cell dyscrasia are central features. The authors now report 7 Chinese patients with this syndrome in which PCD or paraproteinemia were absent in 6, and 2 had a lymph node histology resembling that of hyaline-vascular Castleman's disease. Immunological abnormalities consisted of either increased or decreased numbers of B- and T-cells in 2 cases, and an elevated OKT4/OKT8 ratio with paradoxical dissociation of the lymphocyte transformations to various concentrations and types of mitogens in 1 case. This suggests that the underlying abnormalities of POEMS syndrome are heterogeneous and that it may be an immunologically related syndrome of varying etiology.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thajeb
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chee
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D004700:Endocrine System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010265:Paraproteinemias / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D013577:Syndrome