title: Myasthenia gravis developing in an HIV-negative patient with Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: Myasthenia gravis is a disorder of neuromuscular transmission caused by autoimmune mechanisms. We reported a possible association between seropositive myasthenia gravis and Kaposi's sarcoma in a HIV-negative subject and the observed interactions between the treatment regimen for these two conditions. A 62-year-old man came to our attention for ocular myasthenia gravis. He suffered from a classic form of Kaposi's sarcoma since about 1 year. When myasthenic symptoms worsened, the patient was started on prednisone and azathioprine. The patient had a significant worsening of Kaposi's sarcoma, so prednisone and azathioprine were reduced and he was treated with vinblastine, with improvement both in dermatologic than in neurological symptomatology. We propose some considerations: the potential correlation between Kaposi's sarcoma and myasthenia gravis through immunological mechanism; myasthenia gravis as a paraneoplastic manifestation of Kaposi's sarcoma, and the role of an antitumoral agent as a treatment for both the conditions.
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mantero
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mascolo
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bandettini di Poggio
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caponnetto
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pardini
mesh_terms: D018023:HIV Seronegativity / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*