Beneficial use of immunoglobulins in the treatment of Sydenham chorea

This double case report indicates that treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) is effective in patients with Sydenham chorea (SC). SC is a rare but impressive clinical manifestation following streptococcal infection. This movement disorder characterised by chorea, emotional lability and muscle weakness, is one of the major criteria of acute rheumatic fever. Treatment of SC is typically limited to supportive care and palliative medications. Curative treatment is still in the experimental stage. Recent research on patients with SC proved that antibodies against the group A streptococcus cross-react with epitopes of neurons in the basal ganglia, namely, intracellular tubulin and extracellular lysoganglioside. Therefore, immune modulating therapy by means of prednisone, plasma exchange and IVIG are mentioned in the literature as possible effective treatment. Beneficial effect of IVIG has been shown in several diseases with molecular mimicry as the underlying pathophysiology. In this paper, we describe two girls aged 11 and 13 years, respectively, who presented with SC having severe disabilities in their daily live. We treated both patients with IVIG 400 mg/kg/day for 5 days. Treatment was tolerated well and had a pronounced positive effect. Shortly after the drug was administered, all signs and symptoms disappeared in both patients. Based upon these patients, we highlight IVIG as a serious treatment option for SC

Muscular carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency in infancy

An 8-month-old female presented with febrile myoglobinuria. The activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) II was decreased to 16% of the control mean, and the oxidation of the long-chain fatty acids was reduced to 25% of the mean in the fibroblasts. Homozygosity for the common mutation, S113L, was identified in the CPT II gene. Residual CPT II activity of more than 10% of the mean and homozygosity for the common mutation S113L are usually associated with a milder reduction of long-chain fatty acid oxidation to about 80% of the control and with a later age of clinical onset. The early clinical presentation in the present patient is unique and was associated with a marked impairment of long-chain fatty acid oxidation, possibly because of other genetic factors. CPT II deficiency should be included in the differential diagnosis of isolated myoglobinuria in infanc

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) associated to hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) and revealed after influenza AH1N1 vaccination

Neurological complications of AH1N1 vaccination such as Guillain-Barré syndrome were described in the previous years. Several reports suggest that hereditary neuropathies may be a predisposing factor for immune-mediated neuropathies. We report the case of a 54-year-old female who developed chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) 5 weeks after AH1N1 vaccination. She had no previous neurological history, but neurophysiological features led us to suspect an underlying hereditary neuropathy. PMP22 gene analysis showed a typical deletion, confirming the diagnosis of hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP). We observed a significant clinical and neurophysiological improvement of the neuropathy after intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. This is, to our knowledge, the first reported case of CIDP potentially triggered by AH1N1 vaccination. This and previous observations suggest that genetic-determined neuropathies could predispose to the occurrence of immune-mediated neuropathies. One must recall the possibility of a superimposed hereditary neuropathy like HNPP in patients with a clinical presentation of CIDP, especially when positive family history or unexpected neurophysiological features are present.Journal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe