Carbamazepine hypersensitivity syndrome presenting as vasculitis of the CNS

A highlight on carbamazepine-induced adverse drug reactions in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective medical records-based study

The link between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and carbamazepine-induced cutaneous, respiratory, and gastrointestinal adverse drug reactions (ADR) has created a window of opportunity for preventing certain forms of cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs); however, there is not enough data to make pharmacogenomic recommendations that can be implemented globally. The aim of this study is to assess and document carbamazepine-induced adverse reactions among prescribed Saudi/non-Saudi patients. A retrospective chart review was performed for patients who received carbamazepine (CBZ) in the period between 2016 and 2020, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were gathered and descriptive statistical analyses were performed on the data for the study sample. Comparisons were made using the chi-square test or independent samples' t-test. Statistical significance was considered at p < .05. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 21.0 (Armonk, NY; IBM Corp). Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that higher likelihood of carbamazepine-induced adverse reactions was significantly associated with younger age, OR = 0.82, 95% CI (0.74, 0.90); p < 0.001. Patients who were prescribed CBZ for reasons other than epilepsy or seizures were significantly more likely to develop carbamazepine-induced adverse reactions (epilepsy vs. other; OR = 0.63, p = 0.013; seizures vs. other; OR = 0.59, p = 0.018). Gender or medication duration were not related to carbamazepine-induced adverse reactions (p > 0.05). The findings of this study are comparable with those of other studies assessing carbamazepine-associated adverse reactions in children and adults. Recommendations include genetic prescreening, educating patients and parents on the possibility of adverse reactions, and routine laboratory monitoring.

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms after daclizumab therapy

Objective

To report on 2 women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who developed severe neurologic deterioration and a drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) after treatment with 2 and 4 subcutaneous injections of daclizumab, respectively.

Methods

This report includes clinical, MRI, and histopathologic data.

Results

Daclizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds the interleukin-2 receptor. It was approved for the treatment of relapsing MS. DRESS is an immunologic reaction to various medications that is characterized by eosinophilia as well as cutaneous and visceral manifestations. Following daclizumab treatment, both patients showed fulminant neurologic deterioration along with blood eosinophilia and skin changes, and both fulfilled the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of DRESS. They presented with multiple gadolinium-enhancing supra- and infratentorial lesions, with lesions in the basal ganglia, mesencephalon, and cerebellum. Brain biopsies revealed a pronounced inflammatory infiltrate including numerous eosinophils infiltrating demyelinating lesions, a feature that is atypical for MS but compatible with DRESS. In addition, numerous plasma cells and changes reminiscent of vasculitis were evident.

Conclusions

Neurologic deterioration and DRESS occurred as severe adverse drug effects of daclizumab treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment of DRESS are essential because it is associated with complications such as new autoimmune diseases and liver failure, and may even be lethal. Because of its potential serious side effects, daclizumab was recently suspended for use in the European Union.

Predictive drug allergy testing: an alternative viewpoint

T- and B-cells recognise drugs when bound as haptens to carrier molecules. Recent studies suggest that drugs might also bind in a non-covalent form to MHC-peptide complexes and T cell receptors, and are thereby able to stimulate T cells. This has, however, only been shown for drug-specific T cell clones. Functional analysis revealed that drug-reactive T cells secrete high amounts of IL-5 and are cytotoxic. Cytotoxicity is mediated by drug-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells and, as revealed by the immunohistochemical analysis of drug-induced exanthems, might be involved in the killing of keratinocytes thus explaining the drug-induced exanthem. Further work is needed to clarify the type and exact location of the rather labile drug binding to MHC and T cell receptors, and to evaluate what drug allergies might be caused by such an unusual presentation and immune stimulation. This new model as well as findings from the analysis of clinical drug allergies may have major implications on how to test and predict the allergenic potential of drugs. A change and expansion of currently performed test procedures is required to predict the allergenic potential of drugs.