Postexercise reflex facilitation in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.

ABSTRACT

A 62-year-old woman had 6 months of proximal weakness, fatigue and occasional diplopia, symptoms normally suggesting myasthenia gravis or inflammatory myopathy. Postexercise reflex facilitation is a bedside clinical sign that points to a diagnosis of the rarer alternative, Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS). We confirmed this diagnosis using electrodiagnostic short exercise testing and serum assay for voltage-gated calcium channel antibodies. Further investigation identified a small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the gallbladder, not previously associated with LEMS. Postexercise reflex facilitation is an important bedside clinical finding that helps clinicians to distinguish LEMS from its mimics.