Abstract
Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) and Myasthenia Gravis (MG) are rare antibody mediated disorders
of the central nervous system (CNS) and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) respectively.
Both diseases are predominantly mediated by IgG1 antibodies that activate complement.
There have been increasing reports of patients who develop both disorders. Given the
rarity of both diseases it would seem that these occurrences are not purely coincidental.
There is heterogeneity between the cases described in the literature but common trends
are observed in patients who develop both disorders. Most patients described are female.
Typically the MG precedes the NMO and the majority of patients have undergone thymectomy.
Generally, the symptoms of MG are mild but the NMO tends to follow a more aggressive
clinical course. The pathogenesis of NMO in combination with MG is unknown, but thymectomy
has been implicated in a subset of patients.
We present the case of a female patient who developed NMO on a background of sero-positive
MG and discuss the relevant literature.
Highlights
- We describe the case of a female patient with a known diagnosis of seropositive Myasthenia Gravis (MG) who subsequently developed Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) and discuss the relevant literature.
- There are increasing reports of patients who develop both MG and NMO and given the rarity of both diseases it would seem that these occurrences are not purely coincidental.
- The pathogenesis of NMO in combination with MG is unknown but thymectomy has been implicated in a subset of patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 18, 2013
Accepted:
January 21,
2013
Received in revised form:
December 17,
2012
Received:
September 7,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
