title: Castleman's disease-associated neuropathy: no evidence of human herpesvirus type 8 infection.
abstract: Castleman's disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder that may be associated with a neuropathy. In a recent report, the presence of human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) DNA sequences were detected in an HIV-negative patient with polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes (POEMS) associated with the multicentric hyaline vascular variant of CD. It was proposed that the presence of these sequences may have a role in the pathophysiology of the neuropathy. We describe an HIV-negative woman with the multicentric plasma cell form of CD who presented with a disabling neuropathy. In addition to a severe demyelinating polyneuropathy, she had some of the other features of POEMS including an IgA lambda gammopathy and lymphadenopathy. We were unable to detect the presence of either HHV-8 DNA or proteins in this patient. The significance of our results and the relationship between CD, POEMS and neuropathy are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics, New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at JFK Hospital, 65 James St, Edison, NJ 08818, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zumo
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Grewal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005871:Castleman Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016878:POEMS Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral