title: Multiple sclerosis, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: a common mechanism of irregular immune regulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Multiple sclerosis (MS), idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and diabetes mellitus-1 (DM-1) are polygenic autoimmune diseases with a pivotal autoimmune component affecting young adults. They share a number of characteristics, thereby suggesting common underlying pathways or mechanisms. Typically, the aforementioned diseases are organ-specific autoimmune disorders of unknown etiology, but with strong evidence of tissue-destructive activity of the humoral and/or cellular immune system in the end-organ tissues affected (ie, the myelin components in MS, the myocytes of myocardium in DCM, and the insulin-secreting β islets in DM-1).
  
  
  METHODS
  We herein describe a 35-year-old white Greek man who presented with coexisting MS, DCM, and DM-1 diagnosed over a period of 7 years. The patient was successfully treated and is asymptomatic until present time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clustering of these 3 autoimmune diseases in our patient supports the concept of an immune-mediated damage in these diseases, an important aspect for an effective therapeutic choice by neurologists. However, the immunopathogenetic association between MS and other autoimmune remains speculative, thereby warranting further clarification.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Papageorgiou General Regional Hospital, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. gderetzi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deretzi
authors.forename: Jannis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kountouras
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zavos
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giartza-Taxidou
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koutlas
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiriazopoulou
authors.forename: Iakovos
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tsiptsios
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies