gq1b-ganglioside and Respiratory-Tract-Infections

A 64 years-old woman presented subacute onset distal paraesthesia concurrently with cold-induced urticaria, a rare form of physical urticaria. Both the disturbances developed a fortnight after an upper respiratory tract infection. EMG confirmed an exclusively sensory polyneuropathy, with prolongation of distal latencies and reduction of amplitudes. Anti-GQ1b and anti-GT1a antigangliosides antibodies were found in serum. The clinical workout included CSF analysis, cryoglobulin and paraprotein search, neurotropic infective agents, neoplastic markers and extensive autoimmune disease antibodies analysis, all of which resulted negative. Intravenous immunoglobulins were administered, leading to progressive resolution of the sensory disturbance, while a combination of steroid and anti-histaminics treatment was used for the urticaria. The positivity for anti-ganglioside search with an EMG pattern characterized by a mixture of demyelinating and axonal features may suggest a nodo-paranodopathy at early stages. This is the first case of an association between an acute sensory neuropathy and cold urticaria, two immune mediated conditions apparently due to very different hypersensitivity pathways. A proposed mechanism for the co-occurence of these two conditions is presented, whereas this case expands the clinical spectrum of autoimmune diseases associated with anti-GQ1b and anti-GT1a antibodies.

Topics: Aged; Autoantibodies; Biomarkers; Cold Temperature; Female; Gangliosides; Humans; Middle Aged; Paresthesia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Sensation Disorders; Urticaria

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Autoantibodies; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases; Blepharoptosis; Bradycardia; Cranial Nerve Diseases; Cranial Nerves; Diplopia; Disease Progression; Early Diagnosis; Gangliosides; Humans; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; Male; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Oculomotor Nerve Diseases; Ophthalmoplegia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Treatment Outcome; Vagus Nerve Diseases; Virus Diseases

We studied serum antibodies against gangliosides GQ1b and GM1 in 13 patients with Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) and in 18 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) with cranial nerve involvement. Anti-GQ1b titers were elevated in all patients with MFS cases (immunoglobulin G [IgG] > IgA, IgM), and in 8 of the 18 with GBS. Lower frequencies of increased anti-GM1 titers were observed in MFS patients (3 of 13), as well as in GBS patients (5 of 18). During the course of MFS, anti-GQ1b titers of all Ig classes decreased within 3 weeks after onset. By contrast, anti-GM1 titers (mainly IgM) transiently increased during the course of MFS in five of six patients, suggesting a nonspecific secondary immune response. In patients with MFS following respiratory infections, IgG was the major anti-GQ1b Ig class (six of six patients) and IgG3 was the major subclass (five of six). In contrast, four of five patients with MFS following gastrointestinal infections showed predominance of anti-GQ1b IgA or IgM over IgG and predominance of the IgG2 subclass; anti-GQ1b IgG (IgG3) prevailed in one patient only. These distinct Ig patterns strongly suggest that different infections may trigger different mechanisms of anti-GQ1b production, such as via T-cell-dependent as opposed to T-cell-independent pathways. Thus, the origin of antibodies against GQ1b in MFS may be determined by the type of infectious agent that precipitates the disease.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Autoantibodies; Campylobacter Infections; Campylobacter jejuni; Child; Female; G(M1) Ganglioside; Gangliosides; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulins; Male; Middle Aged; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Polyradiculoneuropathy; Respiratory Tract Infections

Serum IgG antibody against LM1, the predominant ganglioside in the human peripheral nerve myelin, was found in 7 out of 140 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in the acute phase, 1 out of 33 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), and 2 out of 47 patients with Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS). Anti-LM1 IgM antibody was detected only in 2 patients, each with GBS and MFS. The clinical and electrophysiological features of the seven GBS patients with anti-LM1 IgG antibody in the serum were investigated. Six patients recovered to grade 1 within one month of the onset of neuropathy. Electrophysiological studies revealed demyelination in five patients, of which one had axonal damage in addition, whereas sufficient evidence of demyelination or axonal degeneration was not observed in the remaining two. Five had a respiratory tract infection before the onset of neuropathy, and also had serum anti-GQ1b IgG antibody. IgG antibody against LM1 might be involved in the pathogenetic mechanisms of GBS, as a possible demyelinating factor. Presence of both anti-GQ1b and anti-LM1 antibodies may be associated with some infectious agent(s) affecting the respiratory tract.

Topics: Antibodies, Bacterial; Autoantibodies; Campylobacter jejuni; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Gangliosides; Guillain-Barre Syndrome; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Miller Fisher Syndrome; Myelin Sheath; Peripheral Nerves; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating; Respiratory Tract Infections