The anti-Hu syndrome: a clinical and immunological study of 7 cases.
The authors describe the clinical and biological data of seven patients with anti-Hu antibodies. Six of them displayed a small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), but no cancer was detected in the 7th patient in spite of an extensive workup. The clinical heterogeneity of the anti-Hu syndrome is emphasized. The major symptoms were linked to a severe sensory neuropathy in three cases, to cerebellitis in two cases, to dysautonomia in one case, and to gastro-intestinal pseudo-obstruction in one case. One patient also displayed EMG abnormalities characteristic of the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Two patients developed opsoclonus or ocular flutter associated with severe confusion in the late stage of their disease. In four patients, the neurological signs and symptoms preceded the discovery of the SCLC, and in two cases the initial detection of anti-Hu antibodies prompted the successful search for this tumor. Immunopathological events injuring the peripheral and central nervous system are briefly discussed.
Pieret
F
F
Laboratoire de Neurochimie et Service de Neurologie, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Bruxelles.
Sindic
C J
CJ
Chalon
M P
MP
Warny
M
M
Bolyn
S
S
Dehaene
I
I
Gobiet
Y
Y
Goka
S
S
Laloux
P
P
Monteyne
P
P
Peeters
A
A
Pierre
P
P
Gillet
S
S
Van den Bergh
P Y
PY
Windhausen
K
K
Laterre
C
C
D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D051959:ELAV Proteins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007418:Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction / Q000276:immunology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013577:Syndrome
D001323:Autoantibodies; D051959:ELAV Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins