A Case of Myasthenia Gravis after Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation

ABSTRACT

A 38-year-old woman, affected by chronic myeloid leukemia, received a BMT from his HLA identical brother. A mild acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed during the first month after the BMT. A typical clinical and electrophysiological feature of myasthenia gravis (MG) developed 3 months after the BMT requiring medication with pyridostigmine and steroids. Laboratory findings including acetylcholine receptor antibody and other autoantibodies were negative. MG is a well-characterized autoimmune disease which, on rare occasions, is also diagnosed as chronic GVHD after BMT. We report a first case of MG during an acute GVHD period. Since the patient had a myasthenic symptom during an acute GVHD period and no evidence of antibody mediated autoimmunity, this is likely to be an immune complication of acute GVHD. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(1)60~61, 2001