Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Case Report

A case of amyloid myopathy diagnosed during the treatment of myopathy associated with anti-signal recognition particle antibodies

Nobuko Kawakami, M.D.1), Yusuke Katsuyama, M.D.1), Yuka Hagiwara, M.D.1), Hidefumi Yoshida, M.D.1), Kang Kim, M.D.1) and Kiyoshi Harada, M.D.1)

1)Department of Neurology, Shizuoka General Hospital

A 78-year-old man presented with subacute progressive proximal weakness and dysphagia. A biopsy specimen from the left biceps femoris revealed evidence of necrotic and regenerating muscle fibers, but lymphocyte infiltration was not noted. The patient was diagnosed with necrotizing myopathy with anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) antibodies. Concomitant therapy with prednisolone and azathioprine caused the serum CK level to return to normal and it caused clinical manifestations to abate. One year later, however, muscle weakness worsened. Immunoelectrophoresis of serum revealed IgG M protein, and muscle pathology revealed amyloid deposits in numerous blood vessels and at the periphery of a few muscle fibers, and deposits stained positive for anti- light chain antibody. The patient was diagnosed with amyloid myopathy, and therapy for systemic amyloid light chain amyloidosis caused muscle weakness to diminish. Amyloidosis is believed to be the primary pathology in this case based on the patient's response to treatment reaction, but the significance of a case involving both amyloid myopathy and necrotizing myopathy warranted examination.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (855K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 57: 168|173, 2017)
key words: anti-SRP antibody, necrotizing myopathy, amyloidosis, amyloidmyopathy, IgG type

(Received: 2-Nov-16)