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We report on 2 adult patients presenting with choreic movements as the main clinical feature of mitochondrial cytopathy. One patient exhibited a sensory neuronopathy and ophthalmoplegia. The other had ptosis, a proximal myopathy, and a sensory neuropathy. The diagnosis of mitochondrial cytopathy was established by the presence of ragged red fibers, cytochrome C oxydase-negative fibers, and a defect of the complex IV of the respiratory chain in muscle biopsy. No mutations in mitochondrial DNA were detected. The choreic movements observed in juvenile forms of mitochondrial cytopathy are rarely observed in adults. Although striatal vulnerability is commonly reported in patients with mitochondrial disorders, the mechanism by which the mitochondrial dysfunction leads to chorea is not known., (Copyright 2004 Movement Disorder Society.)

Isolation rates of multiple-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria were evaluated retrospectively in a psychiatric care facility. Over the six-year study period, 66 MDR bacterial strains were found. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contributed half of all MDR strains and 31% of all S. aureus strains. Among Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, 22% were resistant to ticarcillin or imipenem, and among Enterobacteriaceae, 4.1% were MDR strains (production of a derepressed cephalosporinase or of an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase). Although most MDR strains were probably acquired during hospitalizations in short-term care facilities outside our institution, patient-to-patient transmission, either direct or via other individuals, cannot be ruled out. These data indicate that psychiatric care facilities should adopt the MDR strain monitoring strategies already used in other hospitals.