rss
BMJ Case Reports 2009; doi:10.1136/bcr.09.2008.0988
  • Rare disease

Immunotherapy responsive startle with antibodies to voltage gated potassium channels

  1. Carlo Antozzi1,
  2. Simona Binelli2,
  3. Carolina Frassoni3,
  4. Claudia Ciano2,
  5. Angela Vincent4,
  6. Francesca Andreetta1,
  7. Ferruccio Panzica2,
  8. Silvana Franceschetti1,
  9. Paolo Confalonieri1,
  10. Renato Mantegazza1
  1. 1
    Myopathology and Immunology Unit, Neurological Institute Foundation “C Besta”, Milan, Italy
  2. 2
    Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Neurological Institute Foundation “C Besta”, Milan, Italy
  3. 3
    Experimental Neurophysiology Unit, Neurological Institute Foundation “C Besta”, Milan, Italy
  4. 4
    Neurosciences Group, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, UK
  1. antozzi{at}istituto-besta.it
  • Published 2 February 2009

Summary

Antibodies to potassium channels (VGKC-Ab) were first associated with acquired neuromyotonia and its variant with CNS involvement, Morvan’s syndrome. Recently, VGKC-Ab were found in patients with non-paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (LE), characterised by personality changes, seizures and memory impairment. These patients may respond to immunotherapies. Thus the association of VGKC-Ab and non-paraneoplastic LE established the concept of a potentially reversible autoimmune encephalopathy. We describe a patient with startle syndrome and VGKC-Ab, without neuromyotonia or LE, who responded dramatically to plasma exchange (PE) and immunosuppression, adding to the spectrum of disorders associated with VGKC-Ab.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: None.

This Article

  1. Summary
  2. Full text

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full text of all Editor's Choice articles and summaries of every article are free without registration

The full text of Images in ... articles are free to registered users

Only fellows can access the full text of case reports (apart from Editor's Choice) - become a fellow today, or encourage your institution to, so that together we can grow and develop this resource

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the case reports as they are published, and let us know what you think by commenting on the Editor's blog