gq1b-ganglioside and Herpes-Zoster

This is the case of a 79-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who presented with Guillain-Barré syndrome with features overlapping with the Miller Fisher syndrome and Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis and positive antiganglioside GQ1b antibody about 6 months after treatment with bendamustine and rituximab. His clinical and neurologic condition continued to deteriorate despite sequential treatment with corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis, but in the end, he had a complete and durable response to treatment with alemtuzumab.

Topics: Aged; Alemtuzumab; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; Antigens, CD; Antigens, Neoplasm; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Autoantibodies; Autoantigens; Bendamustine Hydrochloride; CD52 Antigen; Combined Modality Therapy; Consciousness Disorders; Gangliosides; Glycoproteins; Guillain-Barre Syndrome; Herpes Zoster; Herpesvirus 3, Human; Humans; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Male; Methylprednisolone; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Nitrogen Mustard Compounds; Plasmapheresis; Remission Induction; Rituximab; Virus Activation