A patient with Graves' disease, myasthenia gravis, and polymyositis

Development of Graves' disease during drug-free remission of juvenile dermatomyositis

We report a Japanese boy with Graves' disease (GD) which developed during drug-free remission of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). He had been diagnosed with JDM at the age of 6 years by typical skin rashes, muscle weakness, elevated serum transaminase levels, and typical findings of both magnetic resonance imaging and muscle biopsy. Although anti-melanoma differentiation antigen 5 autoantibody was positive, there was no complication of interstitial lung disease. He showed good response to methylprednisolone pulse therapy followed by oral prednisolone in combination with weekly methotrexate (MTX) and achieved drug-free remission after 3.5 years of treatment. Nevertheless, serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) gradually elevated to 3185 U/ml despite no signs of relapse or malignancy. Hyperactivity and attention deficit was also noted. One year and 3 months after the cessation of MTX, he presented with abdominal pain, tachycardia, and apparent goitre. Laboratory tests showed elevated free triiodothyronine, undetectable thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and positive anti-TSH receptor antibodies. 99mTc scintigraphy showed high levels of thyroid uptake. He was diagnosed with GD and treated with 15 mg/day of thiamazole. Although transient drug eruption was observed, his thyroid functions are currently well-controlled on 5 mg/day of thiamazole. In conclusion, to our knowledge, this is the first report in English literature describing complication of GD with JDM. Unexpected elevation of sIL-2R could be a clue to the diagnosis of GD during the follow-up of JDM.

A Case Report of Recurrent Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in a Patient during Myasthenia Crisis

Introduction

Patients with myasthenia crisis can develop Takotsubo stress cardiomyopathy (SC) due to emotional or physical stress and high level of circulating catecholamines. We report a patient who developed recurrent Takotsubo cardiomyopathy during myasthenia crisis. Coexisting autoimmune disorders known to precipitate stress cardiomyopathy like Grave's disease need to be evaluated.

Case Report

A 69-year-old female with seropositive myasthenia gravis (MG), Grave's disease, and coronary artery disease on monthly infusion of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), prednisone, pyridostigmine, and methimazole presented with shortness of breath and chest pain. Electrocardiogram (ECG) showed ST elevation in anterolateral leads with troponemia. Coronary angiogram was unremarkable for occlusive coronary disease with left ventriculogram showing reduced wall motion with apical and mid left ventricle (LV) hypokinesis suggestive of Takotsubo stress cardiomyopathy. Her symptoms were attributed to MG crisis. Her symptoms, ECG, and echocardiographic findings resolved after five cycles of plasma exchange (PLEX). She had another similar episode one year later during myasthenia crisis with subsequent resolution in 10 days after PLEX.

Conclusion

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy can be one of the manifestations of myasthenia crisis with or without coexisting Grave's disease. These patients might benefit from meticulous fluid status and cardiac monitoring while administering rescue treatments like IVIG and PLEX.

Simultaneous Combined Myositis, Inflammatory Polyneuropathy, and Overlap Myasthenic Syndrome

Immune-mediated neuromuscular disorders include pathologies of the peripheral nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscles. If overlap syndromes (or the association of almost two autoimmune disorders) are recognized, the simultaneous occurrence of several autoimmune neuromuscular disorders is rare. We describe two patients presenting the simultaneous occurrence of inflammatory neuropathy, myositis, and myasthenia gravis (with positive acetylcholine receptor antibodies). For each patient, we carried out a pathological analysis (nerve and muscle) and an electrophysiological study (and follow-up). To our knowledge, this is the first description of such a triple immune-mediated neuromuscular syndrome. We compared our observations with a few other cases of simultaneous diagnosis of two inflammatory neuromuscular disorders.

The co-existence of myasthenia gravis in patients with myositis: a case series

OBJECTIVE

Myositis and myasthenia gravis (MG) are both autoimmune disorders presenting with muscle weakness. Rarely, they occur simultaneously in the same patient. Since the management of myasthenia gravis differs from that of myositis, it is important to recognize when patients have both diseases. We reviewed the cases of 6 patients with both myositis and MG to identify clinical features that suggest the possibility of co-existing MG in myositis patients.

METHODS

We identified 6 patients with dermatomyositis or polymyositis and MG. We reviewed their medical records to assess their clinical presentations, laboratory findings, and electrophysiological features.

RESULTS

All 6 patients had definite dermatomyositis or polymyositis by the criteria of Bohan and Peter as well as electrophysiologic and/or serologic confirmation of MG. Among overlap patients, 5/6 (83%) had bulbar weakness, 2/6 (33%) had ptosis, and 1/6 (17%) had diplopia. Fatigable weakness was noted by 5/6 (83%) patients. Treatment with pyridostigmine improved symptoms in 5/6 (83%) patients. High-dose steroids were associated with worsening weakness in 2/6 (33%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Prominent bulbar symptoms, ptosis, diplopia, and fatigable weakness should suggest the possibility of MG in patients with myositis. A suspicion of MG may be confirmed through appropriate electrophysiologic and laboratory testing. In those with myositis-MG overlap, high-dose steroids may exacerbate symptoms and pyridostigmine may play an important therapeutic role.

Polymyositis associated with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism: two cases and review of the literature

Studies confirming a possible relationship of polymyositis within thyroid dysfunction, either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, are hardly available. To define the association, identify clinical, laboratory, electromyographic, and pathologic features in polymyositis (PM) patients with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, we conducted a MEDLINE and Chinese biomedicine database search to identify relevant literature published in the past 25 years. Seventeen cases were included. All patients were female (10 hypothyroidism patients, seven hyperthyroidism patients). The mean (SD) age of PM, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism at diagnosis was 54.8 (16.7), 55.5 (16.5), and 32.7 years (10.2), respectively. PM diagnosis can precede or parallel hypothyroidism while PM may occur following the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. The most common comorbidities were malignant tumors in these disorders, including thymoma, colon cancer, and thyroid cancer. Muscle weakness was described in 100% of patients. Other common manifestations included muscles' atrophy and pain, deep tendon reflexes, polyarthralgia, and dysphagia. Most patients had markedly elevated creatine kinase and the presence of anti-Sjogren's syndrome A (SSA) antibodies was also found in two cases. Malignancy associated with PM may more frequently occur in hypothyroidism than in hyperthyroidism. The abnormalities on electromyography and biopsy did not differ from those findings of PM. Therapy consisting of corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, or anti-thyroid drugs was administrated; however, poor prognosis seemed to be associated with malignant tumors as well as older age and the presence of anti-SSA antibodies. It is reasonable to suggest that those patients should be routinely evaluated for thyroid function, especially in older female and patients suffering from cancers.

Clinical significance of thyroid disease in patients with inflammatory myopathy

We conducted the current study to determine the prevalence, incidence density, and clinical significance of thyroid disease in a series of 109 patients diagnosed with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. We analyzed 109 patients diagnosed with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy during a 20-year period (1986-2006). Routine determination of thyroid profile, including hormone levels and antithyroid antibodies (antithyroid peroxidase and antithyroglobulin antibody systematically, and antithyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody when appropriate) was carried out at onset and at least once again during the follow-up period. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) study was performed by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide typing. Six patients (5.5%) developed thyroid disease (hypo- or hyperthyroidism), with an incidence density of 8.7 new cases per 1000 person-years; 4 of the 6 cases were of autoimmune origin (3.6%). Thyroid dysfunction, whether autoimmune or not, was clearly related with onset or relapse of disease activity. Neoplastic disease was detected in 3 of 4 (75%) patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, a significantly higher frequency than was observed in the remaining patients in the series (12 of 103, 11.7%; p < 0.05; RR: 22.8; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-236.6). HLA DRB1*04 was found in 4 of the 6 patients with thyroid disease and inflammatory myopathy. Thyroid disorders are clinically relevant in patients with inflammatory myopathies. An association was observed between autoimmune thyroid disease and cancer. Thyroid assessment is strongly recommended in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and clinical relapse.

Association of systemic and thyroid autoimmune diseases

OBJECTIVE

There are few large cohort studies available on the association of systemic and thyroid autoimmune diseases. In this study, we wished to determine the association of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and Graves' disease (GD) with systemic autoimmune diseases.

METHODS

One thousand five hundred and seventeen patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) were included in the study. The HT and GD were diagnosed based on thorough clinical evaluation, imaging and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The frequency of HT and GD in these diseases was assessed. In addition, 426 patients with HT or GD were assessed and the incidence of SLE, RA, SSc, MCTD, SS and PM/DM among these patients was determined. Prevalence ratios indicating the prevalences of GD or HT among our autoimmune patients in comparison to prevalences of GD or HT in the general population were calculated.

RESULTS

Altogether 8.2% of systemic autoimmune patients had either HT or GD. MCTD and SS most frequently overlapped with autoimmune thyroid diseases (24 and 10%, respectively). HT was more common among MCTD, SS and RA patients (21, 7 and 6%, respectively) than GD (2.5, 3 and 1.6%, respectively). The prevalences of HT in SLE, RA, SSc, MCTD, SS and PM/DM were 90-, 160-, 220-, 556-, 176- and 69-fold higher than in the general population, respectively. The prevalences of GD in the same systemic diseases were 68-, 50-, 102-, 76-, 74- and 37-fold higher than in the general population, respectively. Among all thyroid patients, 30% had associated systemic disease. In particular, 51% of HT and only 16% of GD subjects had any of the systemic disorders. MCTD, SS, SLE, RA, SSc and PM/DM were all more common among HT patients (20, 17, 7, 4, 2 and 2%, respectively) than in GD individuals (2, 5, 5, 1, 2 and 1%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Systemic and thyroid autoimmune diseases often overlap with each other. HT and GD may be most common among MCTD, SSc and SS patients. On the other hand, these systemic diseases are often present in HT subjects. Therefore it is clinically important to screen patients with systemic autoimmune diseases for the co-existence of thyroid disorders.