Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 217, Issue 1 , Pages 90-94 , 10 December 2009

Managing non-paraneoplastic Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome: Clinical characteristics in 25 German patients

  • Hannah L. Pellkofer

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +49 89 7095 4436; fax: +49 89 7095 7435.
  • ,
  • Lena Armbruster

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
  • ,
  • Rainer Linke

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
    • Present address: Clinic of Nuclear Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
  • ,
  • Friedrich Schumm

      Affiliations

    • Clinic for Neurology and Neurophysiology Christophsbad, 73035 Göppingen, Germany
  • ,
  • Raymond Voltz

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany
    • Department of Palliative Care, University of Cologne, 50924 Cologne, Germany

Received 8 June 2009 ,Revised 1 September 2009 ,Accepted 25 September 2009.

References 

  1. Antoine JC, Cinotti L, Tilikete C, et al. [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of cancer in patients with paraneoplastic neurological syndrome and anti-Hu antibodies. Ann. Neurol. 2000;48:105–108
  2. Bonomo L, Ciccotosto C, Guidotti A, Storto ML. Lung cancer staging: the role of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Eur. J. Radiol. 1996;23(1):35–45Aug. Review
  3. Fischer BM, Mortensen J, Langer SW, Loft A, Berthelsen AK, Petersen BI, et al. A prospective study of PET/CT in initial staging of small-cell lung cancer: comparison with CT, bone scintigraphy and bone marrow analysis. Ann. Oncol. 2007;18(2):338–345Feb
  4. Graus F, Delattre JY, Antoine JC, Dalmau J, Giometto B, Grisold W, et al. Recommended diagnostic criteria for paraneoplastic neurological syndromes. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 2004;75(8):1135–1140Aug
  5. Graus F, Vincent A, Pozo-Rosich P, et al. Anti-glial nuclear antibody: marker of lung cancer-related paraneoplastic neurological syndromes. J. Neuroimmunol. 2005;165(1–2):166–171Aug
  6. Hoffmann LA, Jarius S, Pellkofer HL, Schüller M, Krumbholz M, König F, et al. Anti-Ma and anti-Ta associated paraneoplastic neurological syndromes: twenty-two newly diagnosed patients and review of previous cases. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 2008;Jan 25
  7. Lambert EH. Defects of neuromuscular transmission in syndromes other than myasthenia gravis. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1966;135(1):367–384Jan 26
  8. Lambert EH, Elmqvist D. Quantal components of end-plate potentials in the myasthenic syndrome. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1971;183:183–199
  9. Lambert EH, Lennon VA. Selected IgG rapidly induces Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome in mice: complement independence and EMG abnormalities. Muscle Nerve. 1988;11(11):1133–1145Nov
  10. Lennon VA, Kryzer TJ, Griesmann GE, et al. Calcium-channel antibodies in the Lambert–Eaton syndrome and other paraneoplastic syndromes. N. Engl. J. Med. 1995;332:1467–1474
  11. Leys K, Lang B, Johnston I, Newsom-Davis J. Calcium channel autoantibodies in the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Ann. Neurol. 1991;29:307–314
  12. Linke R, Schroeder M, Helmberger T, Voltz R. Antibody-positive paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes: value of CT and PET for tumor diagnosis. Neurology. 2004;63(2):282–286Jul 27
  13. Llinás R, Sugimori M, Lin JW, Cherksey B. Blocking and isolation of a calcium channel from neurons in mammals and cephalopods utilizing a toxin fraction (FTX) from funnel-web spider poison. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1989;86(5):1689–1693Mar
  14. Maddison P, Lang B, Mills K, Newsom-Davis J. Long term outcome in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome without lung cancer. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 2001;70(2):212–217Feb
  15. Molina R, Auge JM, Filella X, Viñolas N, Alicarte J, Domingo JM, et al. Pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (proGRP) in patients with benign and malignant diseases: comparison with CEA, SCC, CYFRA 21-1 and NSE in patients with lung cancer. Anticancer Res. 2005;25(3A):1773–1778May–Jun
  16. Motomura M, Lang B, Johnston I, Palace J, Vincent A, Newsom-Davis J. Incidence of serum anti-P/O-type and anti-N-type calcium channel autoantibodies in the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. J. Neurol. Sci. 1997;147(1):35–42Mar 20
  17. Oh SJ, Kurokawa K, Claussen GC, Ryan HF. Electrophysiological diagnostic criteria of Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Muscle Nerve. 2005;32(4):515–520Oct
  18. O'Neill JH, Murray NM, Newsom-Davis J. The Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. A review of 50 cases. Brain. 1988;111(Pt 3):577–596Jun
  19. Parsons KT, Kwok WW, Gaur LK, Nepom GT. Increased frequency of HLA class II alleles DRB1*0301 and DQB1*0201 in Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome without associated cancer. Hum. Immunol. 2000;61(8):828–833Aug
  20. Pastorino U, Bellomi M, Landoni C, De Fiori E, Arnaldi P, Picchio M, et al. Early lung-cancer detection with spiral CT and positron emission tomography in heavy smokers: 2-year results. Lancet. 2003;362(9384):593–597Aug 23
  21. Pellkofer HL, Armbruster L, Krumbholz M, Titulaer MJ, Verschuuren JJ, Schumm F, et al. Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome differential reactivity of tumor versus non-tumor patients to subunits of the voltage-gated calcium channel. J. Neuroimmunol. 2008;204 (1–2), 136–139 Nov 15
  22. Pellkofer HL, Voltz R, Kuempfel T. Favorable response to rituximab in a patient with anti-VGCC-positive Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome and cerebellar dysfunction. Muscle Nerve. 2009;40(2):305–308Aug
  23. Pfannenberg AC, Aschoff P, Brechtel K, et al. Low dose non-enhanced CT versus standard dose contrast-enhanced CT in combined PET/CT protocols for staging and therapy planning in non-small cell lung cancer. Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imaging. 2007;34:36–44
  24. Ramos-Yeo YL, Reyes CV. Myasthenic syndrome (Eaton–Lambert syndrome) associated with pulmonary adenocarcinoma. J. Surg. Oncol. 1987;34(4):239–242Apr
  25. Rees JH, Hain SF, Johnson MR, et al. The role of [18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-FDG-PET scanning in the diagnosis of paraneoplastic neurological disorders. Brain. 2001;
  26. Sabater L, Titulaer M, Saiz A, Verschuuren J, Güre AO, Graus F. SOX1 antibodies are markers of paraneoplastic Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Neurology. 2008;70(12):924–928Eletronic publication 2007 Nov 21
  27. Sanders DB. Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome: clinical diagnosis, immune-mediated mechanisms, and update on therapies. Ann. Neurol. 1995;37(Suppl 1):S63–S73May Review
  28. Schmahmann JD, Sherman JC. The cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. Brain. 1998;121(Pt 4):561–579Apr
  29. Schneider J, Philipp M, Velcovsky HG, Morr H, Katz N. Pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP), neuron specific enolase (NSE), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19-fragments (CYFRA 21-1) in patients with lung cancer in comparison to other lung diseases. Anticancer Res. 2003;23(2A):885–893Mar–Apr
  30. Stieber P, Dienemann H, Schalhorn A, Schmitt UM, Reinmiedl J, Hofmann K, et al. Pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP)——a useful marker in small cell lung carcinomas. Anticancer Res. 1999;19(4A):2673–2678Jul–Aug
  31. Takahashi T, Momiyama A. Different types of calcium channels mediate central synaptic transmission. Nature. 1993;366(6451):156–158Nov 11
  32. Tim RW, Massey JM, Sanders DB. Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome: electrodiagnostic findings and response to treatment. Neurology. 2000;54(11):2176–2178Jun 13
  33. Titulaer MJ, Wirtz PW, Kuks JB, Schelhaas HJ, van der Kooi AJ, Faber CG, et al. The Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome 1988–2008: a clinical picture in 97 patients. J. Neuroimmunol. 2008;201–202, 153–158 Electronic publication ahead of print 2008 Jul 21
  34. Titulaer MJ, Wirtz PW, Willems LN, van Kralingen KW, Smitt PA, Verschuuren JJ. Screening for small-cell lung cancer: a follow-up study of patients with Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. J. Clin. Oncol. 2008;26(26):4276–4281Sep 10
  35. Urbano FJ, Pagani MR, Uchitel OD. Calcium channels, neuromuscular synaptic transmission and neurological diseases. J. Neuroimmunol. 2008;201–202:136–144Sep 15
  36. Vincent A, Lang B, Newsom-Davis J. Autoimmunity to the voltage-gated calcium channels underlies the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome, a paraneoplastic disorder. Trends Neurosci. 1989;12:496–502
  37. Wirtz PW, van Dijk JG, van Doorn PA, van Engelen BMG, van der Kooi AJ, Kuks JB, et al. The epidemiology of the Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome in the Netherlands. Neurology. 2004;63:397–398
  38. Wirtz PW, Willcox N, van der Slik AR, et al. HLA and smoking in prediction and prognosis of small cell lung cancer in autoimmune Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome. J. Neuroimmunol. 2005;159(1–2):230–237Feb
  39. Wirtz PW, Wintzen AR, Verschuuren JJ. Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome has a more progressive course in patients with lung cancer. Muscle Nerve. 2005;32:226–229August

PII: S0165-5728(09)00385-3

doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2009.09.017

Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 217, Issue 1 , Pages 90-94 , 10 December 2009