Thyroid gland tumour, pemphigus foliaceus and myasthenia gravis in the daughter of a woman with myasthenia gravis

Clin Exp Dermatol. 2001 Sep;26(6):504-6. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2230.2001.00877.x.

Abstract

We describe a rare case of pemphigus foliaceus associated with familial myasthenia gravis (MG). A 35-year-old woman developed MG during oral corticosteroid treatment for pemphigus foliaceus. She had been operated on for a thyroid gland tumour that was confirmed histopathologically to be papillary carcinoma without metastasis. At the time of treatment, her mother had had MG for 30 years and undergone thymectomy 22 years ago. A specific ELISA technique showed that antidesmoglein 1 antibody was present in the daughter. There are many reports of multiple diseases such as pemphigus, thymoma, malignancy, and other autoimmune diseases associated with MG. However, familial MG following pemphigus foliaceus has not been reported previously.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Ambenonium Chloride / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies / analysis
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / complications*
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / immunology
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Complement C3 / analysis
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / immunology
  • Desmoplakins
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Epidermis / immunology
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / analysis
  • Myasthenia Gravis / drug therapy
  • Myasthenia Gravis / genetics*
  • Myasthenia Gravis / immunology
  • Pemphigus / complications*
  • Pemphigus / drug therapy
  • Pemphigus / immunology
  • Prednisolone / therapeutic use
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / complications*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Cholinesterase Inhibitors
  • Complement C3
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Desmoplakins
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Ambenonium Chloride
  • Prednisolone