Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROIMMUNOLOGY
Volume 250, Issue 1-2, Pages 94-98Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2012.05.011
Keywords
Acetylcholine receptor; Autoantibodies; D-penicillamine; MuSK; Myasthenia gravis
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Funding
- European Commission (FP7 Fight-MG) [242210]
- REGPOT NeuroSign [264033]
- Association Francaise contre les Myopathies (AFM)
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Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction usually caused by antibodies to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and occasionally to muscle-specific kinase (MuSK). D-penicillamine is a therapeutic agent for several diseases, but can also induce a number of immune-mediated disorders, including MG, as a side-effect. In most patients with D-penicillamine-induced MG, anti-AChR antibodies are detected, but the presence of anti-MuSK antibodies has not been reported previously. Case: The case reported was a female patient who presented with myasthenic symptoms after D-penicillamine administration for scleroderma. Results: Both anti-AChR and anti-MuSK antibodies were identified in the patient's serum. The anti-MuSK antibodies were of the IgG4 subclass, as in idiopathic MG. Both types of antibody gradually disappeared after discontinuation of D-penicillamine. A significant improvement in symptoms was observed and the patient gradually became free of MG symptoms, without requiring any treatment for MG. Another four double-positive (anti-AChR and anti-MuSK antibodies) patients were identified during a retrospective study, but none had been treated with D-penicillamine. Conclusion: D-penicillamine can cause anti-AChR and anti-MuSK antibody-positive MG, a rare phenomenon which is reversed after discontinuation of D-penidllamine treatment. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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