RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Nicotinic ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies associated with paraneoplastic disease in a neuropsychiatric patient
JF BMJ Case Reports
JO BMJ Case Reports
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e240824
DO 10.1136/bcr-2020-240824
VO 14
IS 5
A1 Catherine Stauffer
A1 Daniel A Llano
A1 Suzanna Kitten
YR 2021
UL http://casereports.bmj.com/content/14/5/e240824.abstract
AB Nicotinic ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies (alpha-3-AChR Ab) are associated with paraneoplastic syndromes when present in low elevations. These antibodies can be tested for as part of an autoimmune encephalopathy panel in neuropsychiatric patients; a mildly elevated titre of alpha-3-AChR Ab that may start as an incidental finding can lead to the diagnosis of a previously undetected cancer. While alpha-3-AChR Ab are most typically associated with thymomas and small cell lung cancer, the presence of these antibodies can suggest a diverse range of other cancers. This case presents a patient with longstanding neuropsychiatric symptoms and possible functional hypothyroidism for whom a low elevation in alpha-3-AChR Ab led to the finding of papillary thyroid carcinoma.