MELAS, an important consideration in the adult population presenting with unusual and recurrent stroke-like episodes.
A 48-year-old man was admitted for workup of stroke-like symptoms and generalised tonic-clonic seizures. History and examination revealed that the patient had background diagnoses of type 2 diabetes mellitus, epilepsy and had suffered a temporal lobe infarct 3 years ago. The unusual presentation and physical findings, along with subsequent MRI findings led to a diagnosis of mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). MELAS is a mitochondrial disorder typified by the aforementioned symptoms, and is typically diagnosed in the first two decades of life.
Department of Radiology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Alison
A
Corr
Maria
M
Gaughan
Joan
J
Moroney
Seamus
S
Looby
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D017241:MELAS Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence