A rare manifestation of cricopharyngeal myopathy presenting with dysphagia in sarcoidosis. Rheumatol Int. 2013;33:1089-1092. [PMID: 22116526 DOI: 10.1007/s00296-011-2242-y]

Granulomatous myositis: characteristics and outcome from a monocentric retrospective cohort study

Granulomatous myositis is a clinical-pathological entity, which has been rarely reported, mostly described in sarcoidosis. Currently, no clear and simple prognostic factor has been identified to predict granulomatous myositis evolution. The clinical, anatomopathological, imaging, and biological characteristics of 26 patients with granulomatous myositis were retrospectively collected to describe clinical presentation and outcomes of this condition. Twenty-six patients with granulomatous myositis were included (14 males) with a median age of symptom onset of 65 years. 54 % of patients presented a severe form of the disease defined as a Rankin score ≥2 at last follow-up visit or a progressive form of the disease (no improvement under treatment). Etiology were sarcoidosis (n = 14), inclusion body myositis (n = 4), autoimmune disease (n = 1), hematological malignancy (n = 1), and idiopathic (n = 6). Distal deficit and amyotrophy were more frequent among those with a severe disease. Corticosteroids led to improvement in 75 % of cases, but 66 % of responders relapsed. Methotrexate appeared as a promising second line therapy with clinical improvement in 50 % of patients, and no relapse in responders. Granulomatous myositis is often a severe and difficult-to-treat disease in which patients frequently progress towards severe disability. The presence of muscle atrophy and distal weakness appears to be frequently associated with a severe form of the disease.

Dysphagia, an uncommon initial presentation of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology with a myriad of clinical presentations depending on the organ systems involved. Neurosarcoidosis is an uncommon entity which is characterized by non-caseating granuloma infiltration of the central nervous system. Dysphagia in sarcoidosis is even more uncommon, and can involve one or more pathophysiological mechanisms: central nervous system involvement (cranial nerves associated with swallowing), lower motor neuron involvement (invasion of the enteric nervous plexus), direct muscle infiltration (invasion of the skeletal muscle portion of the esophagus and posterior pharynx), or mechanical obstruction (extrinsic compression by mediastinal lymph nodes). We report a case of a middle-aged woman presenting with severe dysphagia due to neurosarcoidosis which markedly improved after starting corticosteroids. The purpose of this case report is to highlight an atypical presentation of this disease.

Autoimmune Neurogenic Dysphagia

Autoimmune neurogenic dysphagia refers to manifestation of dysphagia due to autoimmune diseases affecting muscle, neuromuscular junction, nerves, roots, brainstem, or cortex. Dysphagia is either part of the evolving clinical symptomatology of an underlying neurological autoimmunity or occurs as a sole manifestation, acutely or insidiously. This opinion article reviews the autoimmune neurological causes of dysphagia, highlights clinical clues and laboratory testing that facilitate early diagnosis, especially when dysphagia is the presenting symptom, and outlines the most effective immunotherapeutic approaches. Dysphagia is common in inflammatory myopathies, most prominently in inclusion body myositis, and is frequent in myasthenia gravis, occurring early in bulbar-onset disease or during the course of progressive, generalized disease. Acute-onset dysphagia is often seen in Guillain–Barre syndrome variants and slowly progressive dysphagia in paraneoplastic neuropathies highlighted by the presence of specific autoantibodies. The most common causes of CNS autoimmune dysphagia are demyelinating and inflammatory lesions in the brainstem, occurring in patients with multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. Less common, but often overlooked, is dysphagia in stiff-person syndrome especially in conjunction with cerebellar ataxia and high anti-GAD autoantibodies, and in gastrointestinal dysmotility syndromes associated with autoantibodies against the ganglionic acetyl-choline receptor. In the setting of many neurological autoimmunities, acute-onset or progressive dysphagia is a potentially treatable condition, requiring increased awareness for prompt diagnosis and early immunotherapy initiation.

[A patient with neurosarcoidosis presenting with easy falling and dysphagia]

A 68-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for progressive dizziness, gait disturbances and weight loss for 18 months. The patient was alert and showed dysphagia and a marked tendency to fall backward. Electronystagmography showed bilateral vestibular dysfunction and audiometry showed right sensorineural hearing disturbance. Cerebrospinal fluid exam showed mononuclear pleocytosis and elevated protein levels. On ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, abnormal uptake was observed in the mediastinal lymph nodes, from which biopsy specimens were obtained. Histological findings showed non-caseous granuloma and a diagnosis of bilateral vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal and vagal nerve palsies due to neurosarcoidosis was made. Steroid therapy resulted in improvement in her clinical symptoms. Neurosarcoidosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients showing progressive easy falling and dysphagia.

Sarcoidosis Involving the Gastrointestinal Tract: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management

Involvement of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an infrequent extrathoracic presentation of sarcoidosis. We reviewed 305 cases of GI involvement reported in 238 patients, in whom GI sarcoidosis was the first sign of the disease in half the cases. The disease does not affect the GI tract uniformly, with a clear oral-anal gradient (80% of reported cases involved the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum). Clinicopathological mechanisms of damage may include diffuse mucosal infiltration, endoluminal exophytic lesions, involvement of the myenteric plexus, and extrinsic compressions. Ten percent of patients presented with asymptomatic or subclinical disease found on endoscopy. The diagnosis is relevant clinically because 22% of cases reviewed presented as life threatening. In addition, initial clinical/endoscopic findings may be highly suggestive of GI cancer. The therapeutic approach is heterogeneous and included wait-and-see or symptomatic approaches, glucocorticoid/immunosuppressive therapy, and surgery. Sarcoidosis of the gut is a heterogeneous, potentially life-threatening condition that requires a multidisciplinary approach and early clinical suspicion to institute personalized therapeutic management and follow-up.

Cranial neuropathies in sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem, chronic inflammatory disease that is characterized by the development of non-caseating granulomas in multiple body tissues and organ systems. Neurological complications of systemic sarcoidosis include peripheral and cranial neuropathies, myopathies, seizures, gait dysfunction, and cognitive decline. Because sarcoidosis has a predilection to involve the basilar meninges, cranial neuropathy is the most prevalent neurological deficit seen when the nervous system is involved. Sarcoidosis cranial neuropathy may occur at different stages of the disease and even as the initial clinical manifestation of central nervous system involvement. Attributing a cranial neuropathy to sarcoidosis can be challenging, particularly in the setting of normal imaging studies. In this review, cranial neuropathies in sarcoidosis are discussed in detail.

Isolated dysphagia unmasking bulbar neurosarcoidosis and pulmonary sarcoidosis

Dysphagia is a rare manifestation of sarcoidosis. It is more commonly the result of esophageal compression by enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes rather than direct esophageal involvement and rarely secondary to neurosarcoidosis and oropharyngeal dysphagia. We report a 54 year old female presenting with a six month history of worsening dysphagia. She denied respiratory symptoms. Physical exam was normal. ESR was 61 mm/hr. Serum ACE level was 65 mcg/L. Chest X-ray was normal. Esophagram revealed a large amount of contrast pooling in pharyngeal recesses with intermittent laryngeal aspiration. Swallow videofluorography showed a decreased retraction of the base of the tongue, limited laryngeal elevation, and a large amount of contrast pooling in pharyngeal recesses with intermittent laryngeal aspiration. EGD showed a normal opening of the upper esophageal sphincter and the cricopharyngeus appeared normal. Proximal esophageal biopsies were normal. Brain MRI with gadolinium was normal. Lumbar puncture was performed. CSF showed a moderate pleocytosis, a WBC count of 19 with 97% lymphocytes, an elevated total protein level of 85 mg/dl (15-60). Neck CT scan showed no oropharyngeal tissue thickening or infiltration, no masses or enlarged lymph nodes. Chest CT scan showed enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes and no esophageal compression. Bronchoscopy showed the vocal cords to be intact, and the CD4/CD8 ratio in BAL was 5.3. Subcarinal lymph node EBUS biopsy revealed non caseating granulomas. The patient was started on IV methylprednisolone. Three days later, the swallow videofluorography showed a near complete response to steroids. The patient tolerated regular consistency diet with thin liquids, and she was discharged on a slow taper of prednisone over a period of three months. A unique case of isolated dysphagia unmasking bulbar neurosarcoidosis and pulmonary sarcoidosis is herein reported.

Esophageal sarcoidosis: a review of cases and an update

Sarcoidosis is a chronic disorder that can virtually affect any organ system in the body. Histologically, it is characterized by the presence of T lymphocytes, mononuclear phagocytes, and noncaseating granulomas. Most commonly affected are the intrathoracic structures, with 90% of the reported cases involving the lungs. Esophageal involvement in sarcoidosis is extremely rare. Dysphagia is the most common presentation in these patients and can be attributed to various mechanisms such as direct esophageal wall infiltration, extrinsic compression, cranial neuropathy, and brainstem involvement. A thorough online literature review revealed only 23 reported cases of esophageal involvement in sarcoidosis. This paper reviews these reported cases in detail along with newer diagnostic and treatment options, including direction of future therapy.