POEMS syndrome

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “POEMS syndrome-related pulmonary hypertension is steroid-responsive” (Respir Med. 2006 Jun 13). Authors are Jouve P, Humbert M, Chauveheid MP et al, from the Service de Medecine Interne, Hopital Bichat, Paris, France. The POEMS (Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal immunoglobulin, Skin changes) syndrome is a rare disease that entails a specific risk for pulmonary arterial hypertension. The authors report on 2 patients who suffered from POEMS syndrome and pulmonary arterial hypertension for whom a detailed hemodynamic pulmonary study was obtained before and after steroid treatment. Under high-dose steroids treatment, clinical symptoms disappeared and PH assessment by sequential hemodynamic study showed a clear-cut improvement in both patients. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.