Voltage-gated calcium channel autoimmune cerebellar degeneration: Case and study of cytotoxicity.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To describe response to treatment in a patient with autoantibodies against voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) who presented with autoimmune cerebellar degeneration and subsequently developed Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), and to study the effect of the patient's autoantibodies on Purkinje cells in rat cerebellar slice cultures.

Methods

Case report and study of rat cerebellar slice cultures incubated with patient VGCC autoantibodies.

Results

A 53-year-old man developed progressive incoordination with ataxic speech. Laboratory evaluation revealed VGCC autoantibodies without other antineuronal autoantibodies. Whole-body PET scans 6 and 12 months after presentation detected no malignancy. The patient improved significantly with IV immunoglobulin

SUBMITTER: McKasson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4821674 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature