title: Neurotoxicity that may mimic progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patient with transplanted kidney.
abstract: We present the 55-year-old woman who has had kidney transplantation three times. She has been treated with immunosuppressive therapy and lamivudine for hepatitis B and C. Nine years after the last transplantation she showed neurological symptoms that presented in the form of confusion and epileptic seizures of the grand mal type. A brain MRI showed large oval zones of hyperintense MR signal in T2-weighted image and hypointense in T1-weighted image around the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles, bilaterally and in both cerebellar hemispheres. After reduction in immunosuppression and the exclusion of lamivudine from therapy, the patient was stable with normal neurological status during the course of next five years. We start from the assumption that the concomitant use of cyclosporin with mycophenolate mofetil and lamivudine, despite normal concentrations of cyclosporin, might cause the accumulation of toxic metabolites and lead to neurotoxicity that mimics PML in a chronic viral environment.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Neurology, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia. meri.matijaca@st.htnet.hr
authors.forename: Meri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matijaca
authors.forename: Jadranka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vlasić-Matas
authors.forename: Stipan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janković
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pintarić
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marović
mesh_terms: D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000009:adverse effects; D007968:Leukoencephalopathy, Progressive Multifocal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D019259:Lamivudine; D016572:Cyclosporine; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid