Exclusively dopamine producing retroperitoneal paragangliomas are extremely rare. We have experienced the first Korean case managed successfully based on the proper evaluation. A 26-year-old female patient came to our attention after the accidental detection of an adrenal mass. She had no symptoms and denied any family history. Laboratory evaluations were normal but serum dopamine (425 ng/L) and 24-hour urine dopamine levels (1,565.3 µg/day) were elevated. She underwent laparoscopic right adrenalectomy. Histopathological diagnosis was a paraganglioma. After operation, dopamine levels in serum and 24-hour urine dropped to 0.09 ng/L and 388.4 µg/day. Dopamine producing paraganglioma elicit no clinical symptoms. Only the dopamine level is elevated in serum and 24-hour urine samples. Surgical resection without using preoperative alpha blockage is the treatment of choice. The prognosis for patients with this tumor tends to be poor because the diagnosis is usually delayed due to lack of symptoms.
A 38-year-old man, who underwent a second kidney transplantation (KT), was admitted because of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) complicated by BK virus-associated nephropathy (BKVAN). He was placed on hemodialysis at the age of 24 years because of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. At the age of 28 years, he underwent a living donor KT from his father; however, 1 year after the transplantation, he developed a recurrence of the primary glomerular disease, resulting in graft failure 2 years after the first KT. Ten years later, he received a deceased-donor kidney with a B-cell-positive-cross-match. He received 600 mg of rituximab before the KT with three cycles of plasmapheresis and immunoglobulin (0.5 g/kg) therapy after KT. During the follow-up, the first and second allograft biopsies at 4 and 10 months after KT revealed AMR with a recurrence of primary glomerular disease that was reclassified as C3 glomerulonephritis (C3GN). He received a steroid pulse, rituximab, plasmapheresis, and immunoglobulin therapies. The third allograft biopsy demonstrated that the BKVAN was complicated with AMR and C3GN. As the azotemia did not improve after repeated conventional therapies for AMR, one cycle of bortezomib (1.3 mg/m 2 ×4 doses) was administered. The allograft function stabilized, and BK viremia became undetectable after 6 months. The present case suggests that bortezomib therapy may be applicable to patients with refractory AMR, even in cases complicated with BKVAN.
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