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Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (eaton + myasthenic_syndrome)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	83%

Selected Abstracts

Co-morbidity of Emery,Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and a congenital myasthenic syndrome possibly affecting the phenotype in a large Bedouin kindred

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2007
G. Ifergane
Emery,Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) is an X-linked humero-peroneal muscular dystrophy associated with contractures and cardiomyopathy. In a 90 member family, we found 11 affected male individuals, three of whom displayed areflexia and neurogenic electromyographic changes. Muscle biopsy performed in one case demonstrated type grouping suggestive of a neurogenic disorder. These three individuals and another family member, who suffers from mild, static limb weakness but is clinically and genetically unaffected by EDMD showed an abnormal incremental response of over 100% to tetanic stimulation. In contrast, one affected family member showed myopathic features on needle electromyography and no definite pathology in repetitive stimulation studies. The diagnosis of EDMD was established by demonstrating a 1712_1713insTGGGC mutation in the emerin gene. This family apparently expresses co-morbidity of EDMD with an exceptionally mild form of pre-synaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome resembling the Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). The superimposed pre-synaptic disorder may have contributed to the development of the neurogenic features demonstrated in these patients. [source]

Severely impaired neuromuscular synaptic transmission causes muscle weakness in the Cacna1a -mutant mouse rolling Nagoya

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 7 2007
Simon Kaja
Abstract The ataxic mouse rolling Nagoya (RN) carries a missense mutation in the Cacna1a gene, encoding the pore-forming subunit of neuronal Cav2.1 (P/Q-type) Ca2+ channels. Besides being the predominant type of Cav channel in the cerebellum, Cav2.1 channels mediate acetylcholine (ACh) release at the peripheral neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Therefore, Cav2.1 dysfunction induced by the RN mutation may disturb ACh release at the NMJ. The dysfunction may resemble the situation in Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), in which autoantibodies target Cav2.1 channels at NMJs, inducing severely reduced ACh release and resulting in muscle weakness. We tested neuromuscular function of RN mice and characterized transmitter release properties at their NMJs in diaphragm, soleus and flexor digitorum brevis muscles. Clinical muscle weakness and fatigue were demonstrated using repetitive nerve-stimulation electromyography, grip strength testing and an inverted grid hanging test. Muscle contraction experiments showed a compromised safety factor of neuromuscular transmission. In ex vivo electrophysiological experiments we found severely impaired ACh release. Compared to wild-type, RN NMJs had 50,75% lower nerve stimulation-evoked transmitter release, explaining the observed muscle weakness. Surprisingly, the reduction in evoked release was accompanied by an ,,3-fold increase in spontaneous ACh release. This synaptic phenotype suggests a complex effect of the RN mutation on different functional Cav2.1 channel parameters, presumably with a positive shift in activation potential as a prevailing feature. Taken together, our studies indicate that the gait abnormality of RN mice is due to a combination of ataxia and muscle weakness and that RN models aspects of the NMJ dysfunction in LEMS. [source]

Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome has a more progressive course in patients with lung cancer

MUSCLE AND NERVE, Issue 2 2005
Paul W. Wirtz MD
Abstract We studied whether a difference exists in the development of symptoms of the Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) between patients with or without small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We assessed symptoms in 38 LEMS patients, 13 with SCLC, by interviewing them using a structured checklist, backed up by a review of their clinical records, and compared the frequency and time scale of symptoms during the course of LEMS. Bulbar (87%) and autonomic (95%) symptoms for the whole group were more common than reported in the literature. Frequencies of symptoms did not differ significantly between patients with and without SCLC, but symptoms in patients with SCLC appeared within a shorter time-frame, indicating a more rapid clinical course. The presence of a particular symptom associated with LEMS did not predict the presence of SCLC, but in patients with rapidly progressive LEMS the possibility of underlying lung cancer should be of particular concern. Muscle Nerve, 2005 [source]

The action of Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome immunoglobulin G on cloned human voltage-gated calcium channels

MUSCLE AND NERVE, Issue 5 2002
Ashwin Pinto MRCP, DPhil
Abstract In the Lambert,Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies to presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) at the neuromuscular junction lead to a reduction in nerve-evoked release of neurotransmitter and muscle weakness. We have examined the action of LEMS IgGs on cloned human VGCCs stably expressed in transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell lines: 10,13 (,1A-2, ,2b,, ,4a) and C2D7 (,1B-1 , ,2b,, ,1b). All LEMS IgGs studied showed surface binding to [125I]-,-CTx-MVIIC-labeled VGCCs in the ,1A cell line and two of six IgGs showed surface binding to [125I]-,-CTx-GVIA-labeled VGCCs in the ,1B cell line. We next studied the effect of LEMS IgGs (2 mg/ml) on whole-cell calcium currents in the ,1A and ,1B cell lines. Overnight treatment of ,1A (10,13) cells with LEMS IgGs led to a significant reduction in peak current density without alteration of the current,voltage relationship or the voltage dependence of steady-state inactivation. In contrast, LEMS IgGs did not reduce peak current density in the ,1B cell line. Overall these data demonstrate the specificity of LEMS IgGs for the ,1A cell line and suggest that LEMS IgGs bind to and downregulate VGCCs in this cell line. Although several LEMS IgGs can be shown to bind to the ,1B (C2D7) cell line, no functional effects were seen on this channel. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 000,000, 2002 [source]

Immunology of disorders of neuromuscular transmission

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2006
A. Vincent
The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a prototype synapse and myasthenia gravis is the prototypic antibody-mediated disorder. There are now three other disorders of neuromuscular transmission caused by antibodies to other essential components of the NMJ. Antibodies to the muscle-specific kinase, MuSK, are defining a new form of myasthenia that can be associated with muscle atrophy. Antibodies to voltage-gated calcium channels are responsible for muscle weakness and autonomic dysfunction in the Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Antibodies to voltage-gated potassium channels are found in patients with a range of disorders affecting the NMJ, the autonomic system or the central nervous system. The pathogenic mechanisms probably depend on the IgG subclass of the antibodies and are only partly shared between the diseases. [source]