MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine

Introduction. Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG) is a rare clinical disorder, and diagnosing it can be challenging. Most of the patients present with predominant facial, oculo-bulbar, and neck muscle weakness along with respiratory muscle involvement...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shalini Bhaskar, Mohammed Fauzi Bin Abdul Rani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4802538
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849305023452807168
author Shalini Bhaskar
Mohammed Fauzi Bin Abdul Rani
author_facet Shalini Bhaskar
Mohammed Fauzi Bin Abdul Rani
author_sort Shalini Bhaskar
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG) is a rare clinical disorder, and diagnosing it can be challenging. Most of the patients present with predominant facial, oculo-bulbar, and neck muscle weakness along with respiratory muscle involvement. Such a presentation can be mistaken for bulbar onset motor neuron disease or as one of the rare oculopharyngeal myopathies. Case Report. We present a young female patient, who reported to us with neck muscle weakness, ocular and bulbar muscle paralysis, and breathing difficulty. She had been healthy till she was prescribed hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets (400 mg per day) for a malar rash. By the end of the second week after commencing the HCQ therapy, she developed the muscle weakness. Her symptoms began to regress after stopping HCQ and starting steroids, pyridostigmine, and, subsequently, azathioprine. She was negative for anticholinesterase receptor antibodies (AChR-Ab) but was positive for MuSK antibodies (MuSK-Ab). Conclusion. This report proves that MuSK-MG can also be unmasked by HCQ administration. Awareness of drug-induced/-unmasked MG is important, as failure to do so may result in a severe morbidity and a fatal outcome. The offending drug has to be promptly discontinued, and appropriate treatment should be instituted.
format Article
id doaj-art-40e69795923347b9909ba97ce5d871e0
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-9635
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Case Reports in Medicine
spelling doaj-art-40e69795923347b9909ba97ce5d871e02025-08-20T03:55:35ZengWileyCase Reports in Medicine1687-96352022-01-01202210.1155/2022/4802538MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by HydroxychloroquineShalini Bhaskar0Mohammed Fauzi Bin Abdul Rani1Department of MedicineDepartment of MedicineIntroduction. Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG) is a rare clinical disorder, and diagnosing it can be challenging. Most of the patients present with predominant facial, oculo-bulbar, and neck muscle weakness along with respiratory muscle involvement. Such a presentation can be mistaken for bulbar onset motor neuron disease or as one of the rare oculopharyngeal myopathies. Case Report. We present a young female patient, who reported to us with neck muscle weakness, ocular and bulbar muscle paralysis, and breathing difficulty. She had been healthy till she was prescribed hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets (400 mg per day) for a malar rash. By the end of the second week after commencing the HCQ therapy, she developed the muscle weakness. Her symptoms began to regress after stopping HCQ and starting steroids, pyridostigmine, and, subsequently, azathioprine. She was negative for anticholinesterase receptor antibodies (AChR-Ab) but was positive for MuSK antibodies (MuSK-Ab). Conclusion. This report proves that MuSK-MG can also be unmasked by HCQ administration. Awareness of drug-induced/-unmasked MG is important, as failure to do so may result in a severe morbidity and a fatal outcome. The offending drug has to be promptly discontinued, and appropriate treatment should be instituted.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4802538
spellingShingle Shalini Bhaskar
Mohammed Fauzi Bin Abdul Rani
MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
Case Reports in Medicine
title MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
title_full MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
title_fullStr MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
title_full_unstemmed MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
title_short MuSK-Myasthenia Gravis Unmasked by Hydroxychloroquine
title_sort musk myasthenia gravis unmasked by hydroxychloroquine
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/4802538
work_keys_str_mv AT shalinibhaskar muskmyastheniagravisunmaskedbyhydroxychloroquine
AT mohammedfauzibinabdulrani muskmyastheniagravisunmaskedbyhydroxychloroquine