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1. A novel murine model of autoimmune dysautonomia by α3 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor immunization

Author

Makoto Yamakawa, Shunya Nakane, Eikichi Ihara, Nozomu Tawara, Hiroko Ikeda, Yoko Igarashi, Yoshihiro Komohara, Koutaro Takamatsu, Tokunori Ikeda, Yusuke Tomita, Shoichi Murai, Yukio Ando, Akihiro Mukaino, Yoshihiro Ogawa, and Mitsuharu Ueda

Subjects
autoimmune dysautonomia, nicotinic AChR, murine model, immunization, autoantibody, Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry, RC321-571
Abstract

We aimed to establish a novel murine model of autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG), which represents autoimmune dysautonomia, associated with MHC class II to understand its pathomechanism and the pathogenicity of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antibodies. The amino acid sequence of the mouse nAChRα3 protein was analyzed using an epitope prediction tool to predict the possible MHC class II binding mouse nAChRα3 peptides. We focused on two nAChRα3 peptides in the extracellular region, and experimental AAG (EAAG) was induced by immunization of C57BL/6 mice with these two different peptides. EAAG mice were examined both physiologically and histologically. Mice with EAAG generated nAChRα3 antibodies and exhibited autonomic dysfunction, including reduced heart rate, excessive fluctuations in systolic blood pressure, and intestinal transit slowing. Additionally, we observed skin lesions, such as alopecia and skin ulcers, in immunized mice. Neuronal cell density in the sympathetic cervical ganglia in immunized mice was significantly lower than that in control mice at the light microscopic level. We interpreted that active immunization of mice with nAChRα3 peptides causes autonomic dysfunction similar to human AAG induced by an antibody-mediated mechanism. We suggested a mechanism by which different HLA class II molecules might preferentially affect the nAChR-specific immune response, thus controlling diversification of the autoantibody response. Our novel murine model mimics AAG in humans and provides a useful tool to investigate its pathomechanism.

Published
2022
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2. Effectiveness of treatment for 31 patients with seropositive autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy in Japan

Author

Toshiyuki Hayashi, Shunya Nakane, Akihiro Mukaino, Osamu Higuchi, Makoto Yamakawa, Hidenori Matsuo, and Kazumi Kimura

Subjects
Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, RC346-429
Abstract

Background: Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is characterized by serum autoantibodies against the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR). Immunomodulatory treatments may alleviate AAG symptoms, but the most appropriate treatment strategy is unclear. Objective: This study aimed to confirm the effectiveness of treatments, particularly immunotherapy, in patients with seropositive AAG in Japan, as well as to determine the most effective treatment and the best assessment method for clinical response to treatment. Methods: We collected data from a previous cohort study of patients with seropositive AAG. The clinical autonomic and extra-autonomic symptoms were objectively counted and subjectively assessed using the modified Composite Autonomic Symptom Score. Post-treatment changes in the gAChR antibody level were evaluated. Results: Thirty-one patients received immunotherapy. Among them, 19 patients received intravenous methylprednisolone; 27, intravenous immunoglobulin; 3, plasma exchange; 18, oral steroids; 2, tacrolimus; 1, cyclosporine; and 1, mycophenolate mofetil. Patients who received immunotherapy showed improvements in the total number of symptoms (from 6.2 ± 2.0 to 5.1 ± 2.0) and modified Composite Autonomic Symptom Score (from 37.4 ± 15.3 to 26.6 ± 12.8). Orthostatic intolerance, sicca, and gastrointestinal symptoms were ameliorated by immunotherapy. Immunotherapy decreased the antibody levels (gAChRα3 antibodies, from 2.2 ± 0.4 to 1.9 ± 0.4, p = 0.08; gAChRβ4 antibodies, from 1.6 ± 0.1 to 1.0 ± 0.2, p = 0.002), but antibody levels increased in 10 patients despite immunotherapy. The rate of improvement in the total number of symptoms was higher in patients with combined therapy than in patients with non-combined therapy (70.7% vs 28.6%). Conclusions: The scores in many items on the rating scale decreased after immunotherapy in patients with seropositive AAG, particularly in the combined immunotherapy group. However, more accurate assessment scales for clinical symptoms and multicenter randomized, placebo-controlled prospective studies are warranted to establish future treatment strategies.

Published
2022
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3. Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility: the interface between clinical immunology and neurogastroenterology

Author

Shunya Nakane, Akihiro Mukaino, Eikichi Ihara, and Yoshihiro Ogawa

Subjects
autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility, autoantibody, ganglionic acetylcholine receptor, autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607
Abstract

Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility (AGID), an idiopathic or paraneoplastic phenomenon, is a clinical form of limited autoimmune dysautonomia. The symptoms of AGID and gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases are overlapping. Antineuronal autoantibodies are often detected in patients with AGID. Autoantibodies play a key role in GI dysmotility; however, whether they cause neuronal destruction is unknown. Hence, the connection between the presence of these autoantibodies and the specific interference in synaptic transmission in the plexus ganglia of the enteric nervous system has to be determined. The treatment options for AGID are not well-defined. However, theoretically, immunomodulatory therapies have been shown to be effective and are therefore used as the first line of treatment. Nonetheless, diverse combined immunomodulatory therapies should be considered for intractable cases of AGID. We recommend comprehensive autoimmune evaluation and cancer screening for clinical diagnosis of AGID. Univocal diagnostic criteria, treatment protocols, and outcome definitions for AGID are required for prompt diagnosis and treatment and appropriate management of immunotherapy, which will circumvent the need for surgeries and improve patient outcome. In conclusion, AGID, a disease at the interface of clinical immunology and neurogastroenterology, requires further investigations and warrants cooperation among specialists, especially clinical immunologists, gastroenterologists, and neurologists.

Published
2021
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4. gAChR antibodies in children and adolescents with acquired autoimmune dysautonomia in Japan

Author

Makoto Yamakawa, Mari Watari, Ken‐Ichi Torii, Ichiro Kuki, Masashi Miharu, Momoko Kawazu, Akihiro Mukaino, Osamu Higuchi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Tokunori Ikeda, Koutaro Takamatsu, Nozomu Tawara, Keiichi Nakahara, Hidenori Matsuo, Mitsuharu Ueda, Takao Takahashi, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry, RC321-571, Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, RC346-429
Abstract

Abstract Objective Patients with acquired autonomic dysfunction may have antibodies specific to the ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR). However, the clinical features of children and adolescents with acquired autonomic dysfunction (AAD) remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the clinical features of pediatric patients with acquired autonomic dysfunction. Methods This study retrospectively examined a series of patients of AAD with serum gAChR antibodies who were referred to our laboratory for antibody testing between January 2012 and April 2019. The study included 200 patients (

Published
2021
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5. Detecting gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with systemic sclerosis using anti-gAChR antibodies

Author

Shunya Nakane, Masataka Umeda, Shin-ya Kawashiri, Akihiro Mukaino, Kunihiro Ichinose, Osamu Higuchi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Hideki Nakamura, Hidenori Matsuo, and Atsushi Kawakami

Subjects
Systemic sclerosis, Autoantibody, Ganglionic acetylcholine receptor, Gastrointestinal manifestations, Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, RC925-935
Abstract

Abstract Background Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) complicated by gastrointestinal dysmotility are difficult to treat and have high mortality. To clarify the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal manifestations, we aimed to demonstrate the association among the clinical features of SSc, the serological markers, the autoantibodies against nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at autonomic ganglia (gAChR). Methods Fifty patients were enrolled and divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of gastrointestinal manifestations, and the characteristics were analyzed between these two groups. We measured biomarkers and the autoantibodies against two gAChRα3 and β4 subunits to test sera samples. Furthermore, patients were classified based on the presence or absence of anti-gAChR autoantibodies, and their clinical features were compared. Results In patients with SSc and gastrointestinal manifestations, digital ulcers were more frequent (p = 0.050) and VEGF expression was significantly higher (p = 0.038). Seven subjects with SSc were seropositive for α3 subunit, whereas one patient was seropositive for β4 subunit. The mean level of anti-gAChRα3 autoantibodies in SSc patients with gastrointestinal manifestations was significantly higher than that in SSc patients without gastrointestinal manifestations (p = 0.001). The group of patients with SSc and gAChR autoantibodies had significantly higher endostatin levels (p = 0.046). Conclusions This study is the first to demonstrate that clinical characteristics of SSc patients with seropositivity for gAChR autoantibodies. Patients with SSc have circulating autoantibodies against gAChR, which may contribute to gastrointestinal manifestations associated with this disease, suggesting that gAChR-mediated autonomic neurotransmission may provide a pathomechanism for gastrointestinal dysmotility in SSc.

Published
2020
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6. Anti-Kir4.1 Antibodies in Multiple Sclerosis: Specificity and Pathogenicity

Author

Michie Imamura, Osamu Higuchi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Akihiro Mukaino, Mitsuharu Ueda, Hidenori Matsuo, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
Kir4.1, multiple sclerosis, autoantibody, potassium channel, neurological disease, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Chemistry, QD1-999
Abstract

The glial cells in the central nervous system express diverse inward rectifying potassium channels (Kir). They express multiple Kir channel subtypes that are likely to have distinct functional roles related to their differences in conductance, and sensitivity to intracellular and extracellular factors. Dysfunction in a major astrocyte potassium channel, Kir4.1, appears as an early pathological event underlying neuronal phenotypes in several neurological diseases. The autoimmune effects on the potassium channel have not yet been fully described in the literature. However, several research groups have reported that the potassium channels are an immune target in patients with various neurological disorders. In 2012, Srivastava et al. reported about Kir4.1, a new immune target for autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Follow-up studies have been conducted by several research groups, but no clear conclusion has been reached. Most follow-up studies, including ours, have reported that the prevalence of Kir4.1-seropositive patients with MS was lower than that in the initial study. Therefore, we extensively review studies on the method of antibody testing, seroprevalence of MS, and other neurological diseases in patients with MS. Finally, based on the role of Kir4.1 in MS, we consider whether it could be an immune target in this disease.

Published
2020
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7. Ganglionic Acetylcholine Receptor Antibodies and Autonomic Dysfunction in Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases

Author

Michie Imamura, Akihiro Mukaino, Koutaro Takamatsu, Hiroto Tsuboi, Osamu Higuchi, Hideki Nakamura, Saori Abe, Yukio Ando, Hidenori Matsuo, Tadashi Nakamura, Takayuki Sumida, Atsushi Kawakami, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
autoimmune rheumatic diseases, ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibody, autonomic neuropathy, autonomic dysfunction, sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Chemistry, QD1-999
Abstract

Autonomic neuropathy has been reported in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) including Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. However, the pathophysiological mechanism underlying autonomic dysfunction remains unknown to researchers. On the other hand, autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an acquired immune-mediated disorder, which causes dysautonomia that is mediated by autoantibodies against ganglionic acetylcholine receptors (gAChRs). The purpose of this review was to describe the characteristics of autonomic disturbance through previous case reports and the functional tests used in these studies and address the importance of anti-gAChR antibodies. We have established luciferase immunoprecipitation systems to detect antibodies against gAChR in the past and determined the prevalence of gAChR antibodies in various autoimmune diseases including AAG and rheumatic diseases. Autonomic dysfunction, which affects lower parasympathetic and higher sympathetic activity, is usually observed in ARD. The anti-gAChR antibodies may play a crucial role in autonomic dysfunction observed in ARD. Further studies are necessary to determine whether anti-gAChR antibody levels are correlated with the severity of autonomic dysfunction in ARD.

Published
2020
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8. Association between Anti-Ganglionic Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor (gAChR) Antibodies and HLA-DRB1 Alleles in the Japanese Population.

Author

Yasuhiro Maeda, Kiyoshi Migita, Osamu Higuchi, Akihiro Mukaino, Hiroshi Furukawa, Atsumasa Komori, Minoru Nakamura, Satoru Hashimoto, Shinya Nagaoka, Seigo Abiru, Hiroshi Yatsuhashi, Hidenori Matsuo, Atsushi Kawakami, Michio Yasunami, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Anti-ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies are observed in autoimmune diseases, as well as in patients with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy. However, the genetic background of anti-gAChR antibodies is unclear. Here, we investigated HLA alleles in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients with or without anti-gAChR antibodies.Genomic DNA from 260 patients with type-1 autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) were genotyped for HLA-A, B, DRB1, and DQB1 loci. Anti-gAChR antibodies in the sera form AIH patients were measured using the luciferase immunoprecipitation system, and examined allelic association in patients with or without anti-gAChR antibodies.We detected anti-α3 or -β4 gAChR antibodies in 11.5% (30/260) of patients with AIH. Among AIH patients there was no significant association between HLA-A, B DQB1 alleles and the positivity for anti-gAChR antibodies. Whereas the HLA-DRB1*0403 allele showed a significantly increased frequency in AIH patients with anti-gAChR antibodies compared with those without anti-gAChR antibodies.The frequency of the HLA-DRB1*0403 allele differed among Japanese patients with AIH according to the presence or absence of anti-gAChR antibodies. Our findings suggest that particular HLA class II molecules might control the development of anti-gAChR antibodies in the autoimmune response to gAChR.

Published
2016
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9. Clinical features of autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy and the detection of subunit-specific autoantibodies to the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor in Japanese patients.

Author

Shunya Nakane, Osamu Higuchi, Michiaki Koga, Takashi Kanda, Kenya Murata, Takashi Suzuki, Hiroko Kurono, Masanari Kunimoto, Ken-ichi Kaida, Akihiro Mukaino, Waka Sakai, Yasuhiro Maeda, and Hidenori Matsuo

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is a rare acquired channelopathy that is characterized by pandysautonomia, in which autoantibodies to ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (gAChR) may play a central role. Radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) assays have been used for the sensitive detection of autoantibodies to gAChR in the serum of patients with AAG. Here, we developed luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) to diagnose AAG based on IgGs to both the α3 and β4 gAChR subunits in patient serum. We reviewed the serological and clinical data of 50 Japanese patients who were diagnosed with AAG. With the LIPS testing, we detected anti-α3 and -β4 gAChR antibodies in 48% (24/50) of the patients. A gradual mode of onset was more common in the seropositive group than in the seronegative group. Patients with AAG frequently have orthostatic hypotension and upper and lower gastrointestinal tract symptoms, with or without anti-gAChR. The occurrence of autonomic symptoms was not significantly different between the seropositive and seronegative group, with the exception of achalasia in three patients from the seropositive group. In addition, we found a significant overrepresentation of autoimmune diseases in the seropositive group and endocrinological abnormalities as an occasional complication of AAG. Our results demonstrated that the LIPS assay was a useful novel tool for detecting autoantibodies against gAChR in patients with AAG.

Published
2015
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11. Intravenous cyclophosphamide treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus with severe autonomic disorders confirmed by head-up tilt table test: A case series

Author

Takahiro Maeda, Kunihiro Ichinose, Atsushi Kawakami, Akihiro Mukaino, Masataka Umeda, Hiroaki Kawano, Yushiro Endo, Osamu Higuchi, Ayuko Takatani, Hideki Nakamura, Tomohiro Koga, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Cyclophosphamide, Autonomic disorder, Orthostatic intolerance, Tilt table test, Intravenous cyclophosphamide, Systemic lupus erythematosus, immune system diseases, Tilt-Table Test, Internal medicine, Medicine, Humans, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, skin and connective tissue diseases, Therapeutic strategy, medicine.diagnostic_test, business.industry, Therapeutic effect, Head up tilt, medicine.disease, Head-up tilt table test, Administration, Intravenous, business, Plasmablasts, Immunosuppressive Agents, medicine.drug
Abstract

Autonomic disorders are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the therapeutic strategy and methods for evaluating the effects of therapy have not been established. We describe the three cases of SLE patients who developed severe autonomic disorders as demonstrated by the head-up tilt table test (HUT). All three patients were treated by intensive immunosuppressive treatments including intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY); their HUT results all became negative. Our cases suggest that IVCY treatment can be a good therapeutic option for severe autonomic disorders in SLE patients. The HUT is a useful objective method for the diagnosis of and the evaluation of longitudinal therapeutic effects on autonomic disorders in SLE patients with orthostatic intolerance., Modern Rheumatology Case Reports, 6 (1), pp. 47-51; 2022

Published
2021

12. Macroglossia in rapidly progressive inclusion body myositis

Author

Yoshimune Yamasaki, Akihiro Mukaino, Satoshi Yamashita, Yousuke Takeuchi, Nozomu Tawara, Ryoji Yoshida, Yumi Honda, Taro Yamashita, Asako Kakimoto, Hidetsugu Ueyama, and Yukio Ando

Subjects
Neurology (clinical), General Medicine, Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Published
2022

13. Association between neurosarcoidosis with autonomic dysfunction and anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies

Author

Naohiro Yamaguchi, Norio Abiru, Osamu Higuchi, Haruki Koike, Masahisa Katsuno, Tomonori Tanaka, Hiroaki Kawano, Akira Tsujino, Hidenori Matsuo, Akihiro Mukaino, Fumiaki Tanaka, Makoto Oishi, Misako Kunii, Asami Saito, Yasuhiro Maeda, Eiko Tsuiki, Shunya Nakane, and Yukimasa Arita

Subjects
Pathology, medicine.medical_specialty, Neurology, Sarcoidosis, Autonomic dysfunction, Orthostatic intolerance, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Neurosarcoidosis, Hypotension, Orthostatic, 03 medical and health sciences, Orthostatic vital signs, 0302 clinical medicine, Central Nervous System Diseases, medicine, Humans, Receptors, Cholinergic, Autoantibodies, Retrospective Studies, Acetylcholine receptor, Original Communication, business.industry, Dysautonomia, Anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies, medicine.disease, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases, 030228 respiratory system, Neurology (clinical), Small fiber neuropathy, medicine.symptom, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Objective To determine whether autonomic dysfunction in neurosarcoidosis is associated with anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies, which are detected in autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy. Methods We retrospectively extracted cases of sarcoidosis from 1787 serum samples of 1,381 patients between 2012 and 2018. Anti-gAChR antibodies against the α3 and β4 subunit were measured by luciferase immunoprecipitation to confirm the clinical features of each case. We summarized literature reviews of neurosarcoidosis with severe dysautonomia to identify relevant clinical features and outcomes. Results We extracted three new cases of neurosarcoidosis with severe dysautonomia, among which two were positive for anti-gAChR antibodies: Case 1 was positive for antibodies against the β4 subunit, and Case 2 was positive for antibodies against both the α3 and β4 subunits. We reviewed the cases of 15 patients with neurosarcoidosis and severe dysautonomia, including the three cases presented herein. Orthostatic hypotension and orthostatic intolerance were the most common symptoms. Among the various types of neuropathy, small fiber neuropathy (SFN) was the most prevalent, with seven of nine cases exhibiting definite SFN. Six of eight cases had impaired postganglionic fibers, of which the present three cases revealed abnormality of 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy. Of the 11 cases, 10 were responsive to immunotherapy, except one seropositive case (Case 2). Conclusions The presence of gAChR antibodies may constitute one of the mechanisms by which dysautonomia arises in neurosarcoidosis.

Published
2021

14. gAChR antibodies in children and adolescents with acquired autoimmune dysautonomia in Japan

Author

Ken Ichi Torii, Masashi Miharu, Mari Watari, Momoko Kawazu, Koutaro Takamatsu, Mitsuharu Ueda, Akihiro Mukaino, Ichiro Kuki, Keiichi Nakahara, Osamu Higuchi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Makoto Yamakawa, N. Tawara, Tokunori Ikeda, Hidenori Matsuo, Shunya Nakane, and Takao Takahashi

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Adult, medicine.medical_specialty, Adolescent, Nausea, Encephalopathy, Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry, Primary Dysautonomias, Receptors, Nicotinic, 03 medical and health sciences, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Young Adult, 0302 clinical medicine, Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System, Japan, Internal medicine, medicine, Humans, RC346-429, Child, Research Articles, Aged, Autoantibodies, Retrospective Studies, Adult patients, biology, business.industry, General Neuroscience, Dysautonomia, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, 030104 developmental biology, biology.protein, Vomiting, Autonomic symptoms, Neurology (clinical), Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system, medicine.symptom, Antibody, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, RC321-571, Research Article
Abstract

Objective Patients with acquired autonomic dysfunction may have antibodies specific to the ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR). However, the clinical features of children and adolescents with acquired autonomic dysfunction (AAD) remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the clinical features of pediatric patients with acquired autonomic dysfunction. Methods This study retrospectively examined a series of patients of AAD with serum gAChR antibodies who were referred to our laboratory for antibody testing between January 2012 and April 2019. The study included 200 patients (

Published
2021

15. Yips in Kyudo (Japanese archery): prevalence, classification, and aggravating factors

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Seiichiro Nishio, Shinei Kato, Shunya Nakane, Yoichiro Nagao, Yoya Ono, Takayoshi Shimohata, Yuichi Hayashi, and Masahiro Waza

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Movement Disorders, business.industry, Focal dystonia, medicine.disease, Increased risk, Physical medicine and rehabilitation, Japan, Dystonic Disorders, Prevalence, Humans, Medicine, Neurology (clinical), Aggravating Factor, business, Sports
Abstract

In Kyudo (Japanese archery), there are four disorders that hinder an archer's performance: Hayake (releasing the bow too early), Motare (unable to release the bow when intended), Biku (jerking when aiming), and Yusuri (shaking when drawing the bow, or aiming). These disorders are similar to Yips, a psycho-neuromuscular movement disorder, recognized in various sports, but few studies have examined yips in Kyudo. This study examined the frequency, classification, and risk factors of yips in Kyudo among medical students. The results showed that 41 of 65 students (63.1%) experienced at least one disorder. The frequency of Hayake was the highest (35 patients; 85.3%). An experience of playing was associated with the increased risk of yips in Kyudo. Motare was the only disorder that appeared on its own, and without complications from other disorders. Based on its characteristics, it was suspected that task-specific focal dystonia involved in Motare.

Published
2021

16. Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

Author

Mantegazza, R., Wolfe, G. I., Muppidi, S., Wiendl, H., Fujita, K. P., O'Brien, F. L., Booth, H. D. E., Howard, J. F., Claudio Gabriel Mazia, Miguel, Wilken, Fabio, Barroso, Juliet, Saba, Marcelo, Rugiero, Mariela, Bettini, Marcelo, Chaves, Gonzalo, Vidal, Alejandra Dalila Garcia, Jan De Bleecker, Guy Van den Abeele, Kathy de Koning, Katrien De Mey, Rudy, Mercelis, Délphine, Mahieu, Linda, Wagemaekers, Philip Van Damme, Annelies, Depreitere, Caroline, Schotte, Charlotte, Smetcoren, Olivier, Stevens, Sien Van Daele, Nicolas, Vandenbussche, Annelies, Vanhee, Sarah, Verjans, Jan, Vynckier, Ann, D'Hont, Petra, Tilkin, Alzira Alves de Siqueira Carvalho, Igor Dias Brockhausen, David, Feder, Daniel, Ambrosio, Gabor Lovasamela César, Ana Paula Melo, Renata Martins Ribeiro, Rosana, Rocha, Bruno Bezerra Rosa, Thabata, Veiga, Luiz Augusto da Silva, Murilo Santos Engel, Jordana Gonçalves Geraldo, Maria da Penha Ananias Morita, Erica Nogueira Coelho, Gabriel, Paiva, Marina, Pozo, Natalia, Prando, Debora Dada Martineli Torres, Cristiani Fernanda Butinhao, Gustavo, Duran, Tomás Augusto Suriane Fialho, Tamires Cristina Gomes da Silva, Luiz Otavio Maia Gonçalves, Lucas Eduardo Pazetto, Luciana Renata Cubas Volpe, Luciana Souza Duca, Maurício AndréGheller Friedrich, Alexandre, Guerreiro, Henrique, Mohr, Maurer Pereira Martins, Daiane da Cruz Pacheco, Luciana, Ferreira, Ana Paula Macagnan, Graziela, Pinto, Aline de Cassia Santos, Acary Souza Bulle Oliveira, Ana Carolina Amaral de Andrade, Marcelo, Annes, Liene Duarte Silva, Valeria Cavalcante Lino, Wladimir, Pinto, Natália, Assis, Fernanda, Carrara, Carolina, Miranda, Iandra, Souza, Patrícia, Fernandes, Zaeem, Siddiqi, Cecile, Phan, Jeffrey, Narayan, Derrick, Blackmore, Ashley, Mallon, Rikki, Roderus, Elizabeth, Watt, Stanislav, Vohanka, Josef, Bednarik, Magda, Chmelikova, Marek, Cierny, Stanislava, Toncrova, Jana, Junkerova, Barbora, Kurkova, Katarina, Reguliova, Olga, Zapletalova, Jiri, Pitha, Iveta, Novakova, Michaela, Tyblova, Ivana, Jurajdova, Marcela, Wolfova, Henning, Andersen, Thomas, Harbo, Lotte, Vinge, Susanne, Krogh, Anita, Mogensen, John, Vissing, Joan, Højgaard, Nanna, Witting, Anne Mette Ostergaard Autzen, Jane, Pedersen, Juha-Pekka, Erälinna, Mikko, Laaksonen, Olli, Oksaranta, Tuula, Harrison, Jaana, Eriksson, Csilla, Rozsa, Melinda, Horvath, Gabor, Lovas, Judit, Matolcsi, Gedeonne, Jakab, Gyorgyi, Szabo, Brigitta, Szabadosne, Laszlo, Vecsei, Livia, Dezsi, Edina, Varga, Monika, Konyane, Antonini, Giovanni, Antonella Di Pasquale, Garibaldi, Matteo, Morino, Stefania, Troili, Fernanda, Fionda, Laura, Amelia, Evoli, Paolo Emilio Alboini, Valentina, D'Amato, Raffaele, Iorio, Inghilleri, Maurizio, Frasca, Vittorio, Elena, Giacomelli, Gori, MARIA CRISTINA, Diego, Lopergolo, Onesti, Emanuela, Maria, Gabriele, Francesco, Saccà, Alessandro, Filla, Teresa, Costabile, Enrico, Marano, Angiola, Fasanaro, Angela, Marsili, Giorgia, Puorro, Carlo, Antozzi, Silvia, Bonanno, Giorgia, Camera, Alberta, Locatelli, Lorenzo, Maggi, Maria, Pasanisi, Angela, Campanella, Akiyuki, Uzawa, Tetsuya, Kanai, Naoki, Kawaguchi, Masahiro, Mori, Yoko, Kaneko, Akiko, Kanzaki, Eri, Kobayashi, Hiroyuki, Murai, Katsuhisa, Masaki, Dai, Matsuse, Takuya, Matsushita, Taira, Uehara, Misa, Shimpo, Maki, Jingu, Keiko, Kikutake, Yumiko, Nakamura, Yoshiko, Sano, Kimiaki, Utsugisawa, Yuriko, Nagane, Ikuko, Kamegamori, Tomoko, Tsuda, Yuko, Fujii, Kazumi, Futono, Yukiko, Ozawa, Aya, Mizugami, Yuka, Saito, Makoto, Samukawa, Hidekazu, Suzuki, Miyuki, Morikawa, Sachiko, Kamakura, Eriko, Miyawaki, Meinoshin, Okumura, Soichiro, Funaka, Tomohiro, Kawamura, Masayuki, Nakamori, Masanori, Takahashi, Namie, Taichi, Tomoya, Hasuike, Eriko, Higuchi, Hisako, Kobayashi, Kaori, Osakada, Hirokazu, Shiraishi, Teiichiro, Miyazaki, Masakatsu, Motomura, Akihiro, Mukaino, Shunsuke, Yoshimura, Shizuka, Asada, Seiko, Yoshida, Shoko, Amamoto, Tomomi, Kobashikawa, Megumi, Koga, Maeda, Yasuko, Kazumi, Takada, Mihoko, Takada, Masako, Tsurumaru, Yumi, Yamashita, Yasushi, Suzuki, Tetsuya, Akiyama, Koichi, Narikawa, Ohito, Tano, Kenichi, Tsukita, Rikako, Kurihara, Fumie, Meguro, Yusuke, Fukuda, Miwako, Sato, Tomihiro, Imai, Emiko, Tsuda, Shun, Shimohama, Takashi, Hayashi, Shin, Hisahara, Jun, Kawamata, Takashi, Murahara, Masaki, Saitoh, Shuichiro, Suzuki, Daisuke, Yamamoto, Yoko, Ishiyama, Naoko, Ishiyama, Mayuko, Noshiro, Rumi, Takeyama, Kaori, Uwasa, Ikuko, Yasuda, Anneke van der Kooi, Marianne de Visser, Tamar, Gibson, Byung-Jo, Kim, Chang Nyoung Lee, Yong Seo Koo, Hung Youl Seok, Hoo Nam Kang, Hyejin, Ra, Byoung Joon Kim, Eun Bin Cho, Misong, Choi, Hyelim, Lee, Ju-Hong, Min, Jinmyoung, Seok, Jieun, Lee, Da Yoon Koh, Juyoung, Kwon, Sangae, Park, Eun Haw Choi, Yoon-Ho, Hong, So-Hyun, Ahn, Dae Lim Koo, Jae-Sung, Lim, Chae Won Shin, Ji Ye Hwang, Miri, Kim, Seung Min Kim, Ha-Neul, Jeong, Jinwoo, Jung, Yool-Hee, Kim, Hyung Seok Lee, Ha Young Shin, Eun Bi Hwang, Miju, Shin, Carlos, Casasnovas, Maria Antonia Alberti Aguilo, Christian, Homedes-Pedret, Natalia Julia Palacios, Laura Diez Porras, Valentina Velez Santamaria, Ana, Lazaro, Josep Gamez Carbonell, Pilar, Sune, Maria Salvado Figueras, Gisela, Gili, Gonzalo, Mazuela, Isabel, Illa, Elena Cortes Vicente, Jordi, Diaz-Manera, Luis Antonio Querol Gutiérrez, Ricardo Rojas Garcia, Nuria, Vidal, Elisabet, Arribas-Ibar, Exuperio Diez Tejedor, Pilar Gomez Salcedo, Mireya, Fernandez-Fournier, Pedro Lopez Ruiz, Francisco Javier Rodriguez de Rivera, Maria, Sastre, Fredrik, Piehl, Albert, Hietala, Lena, Bjarbo, Ihsan, Sengun, Arzu, Meherremova, Pinar, Ozcelik, Bengu, Balkan, Celal, Tuga, Muzeyyen, Ugur, Sevim, Erdem-Ozdamar, Can Ebru Bekircan-Kurt, Nazire Pinar Acar, Ezgi, Yilmaz, Yagmur, Caliskan, Gulsah, Orsel, Husnu, Efendi, Seda, Aydinlik, Hakan, Cavus, Ayse, Kutlu, Gulsah, Becerikli, Cansu, Semiz, Ozlem, Tun, Murat, Terzi, Baki, Dogan, Musa Kazim Onar, Sedat, Sen, Tugce Kirbas Cavdar, Adife, Veske, Fiona, Norwood, Aikaterini, Dimitriou, Jakit, Gollogly, Mohamed, Mahdi-Rogers, Arshira, Seddigh, Giannis, Sokratous, Gal, Maier, Faisal, Sohail, Saiju, Jacob, Girija, Sadalage, Pravin, Torane, Claire, Brown, Amna, Shah, Sivakumar, Sathasivam, Heike, Arndt, Debbie, Davies, Dave, Watling, Anthony, Amato, Thomas, Cochrane, Mohammed, Salajegheh, Kristen, Roe, Katherine, Amato, Shirli, Toska, Nicholas, Silvestri, Kara, Patrick, Karen, Zakalik, Jonathan, Katz, Robert, Miller, Marguerite, Engel, Dallas, Forshew, Elena, Bravver, Benjamin, Brooks, Mohammed, Sanjak, Sarah, Plevka, Maryanne, Burdette, Scott, Cunningham, Megan, Kramer, Joanne, Nemeth, Clara, Schommer, Tierney, Scott, Vern, Juel, Jeffrey, Guptill, Lisa, Hobson-Webb, Janice, Massey, Kate, Beck, Donna, Carnes, John, Loor, Amanda, Anderson, Robert, Pascuzzi, Cynthia, Bodkin, John, Kincaid, Riley, Snook, Sandra, Guingrich, Angela, Micheels, Vinay, Chaudhry, Andrea, Corse, Betsy, Mosmiller, Andrea, Kelley, Doreen, Ho, Jayashri, Srinivasan, Michal, Vytopil, Jordan, Jara, Nicholas, Ventura, Cynthia, Carter, Craig, Donahue, Carol, Herbert, Stephanie, Scala, Elaine, Weiner, Sharmeen, Alam, Jonathan, Mckinnon, Laura, Haar, Naya, Mckinnon, Karan, Alcon, Kaitlyn, Mckenna, Nadia, Sattar, Kevin, Daniels, Dennis, Jeffery, Miriam, Freimer, Joseph Chad Hoyle, John, Kissel, Julie, Agriesti, Sharon, Chelnick, Louisa, Mezache, Colleen, Pineda, Filiz, Muharrem, Chafic, Karam, Julie, Khoury, Tessa, Marburger, Harpreet, Kaur, Diana, Dimitrova, James, Gilchrist, Brajesh, Agrawal, Mona, Elsayed, Stephanie, Kohlrus, Angela, Ardoin, Taylor, Darnell, Laura, Golden, Barbara, Lokaitis, Jenna, Seelbach, Neelam, Goyal, Sarada, Sakamuri, Yuen, T So, Shirley, Paulose, Sabrina, Pol, Lesly, Welsh, Ratna, Bhavaraju-Sanka, Alejandro Tobon Gonzalez, Lorraine, Dishman, Floyd, Jones, Anna, Gonzalez, Patricia, Padilla, Amy, Saklad, Marcela, Silva, Sharon, Nations, Jaya, Trivedi, Steve, Hopkins, Mohamed, Kazamel, Mohammad, Alsharabati, Liang, Lu, Kenkichi, Nozaki, Sandi, Mumfrey-Thomas, Amy, Woodall, Tahseen, Mozaffar, Tiyonnoh, Cash, Namita, Goyal, Gulmohor, Roy, Veena, Mathew, Fatima, Maqsood, Brian, Minton, H James Jones, Jeffrey, Rosenfeld, Rebekah, Garcia, Laura, Echevarria, Sonia, Garcia, Michael, Pulley, Shachie, Aranke, Alan Ross Berger, Jaimin, Shah, Yasmeen, Shabbir, Lisa, Smith, Mary, Varghese, Laurie, Gutmann, Ludwig, Gutmann, Nivedita, Jerath, Christopher, Nance, Andrea, Swenson, Heena, Olalde, Nicole, Kressin, Jeri, Sieren, Richard, Barohn, Mazen, Dimachkie, Melanie, Glenn, April, Mcvey, Mamatha, Pasnoor, Jeffery, Statland, Yunxia, Wang, Tina, Liu, Kelley, Emmons, Nicole, Jenci, Jerry, Locheke, Alex, Fondaw, Kathryn, Johns, Gabrielle, Rico, Maureen, Walsh, Laura, Herbelin, Charlene, Hafer-Macko, Justin, Kwan, Lindsay, Zilliox, Karen, Callison, Valerie, Young, Beth, Disanzo, Kerry, Naunton, Michael, Benatar, Martin, Bilsker, Khema, Sharma, Anne, Cooley, Eliana, Reyes, Sara-Claude, Michon, Danielle, Sheldon, Julie, Steele, Rebecca, Traub, Manisha, Chopra, Tuan, Vu, Lara, Katzin, Terry, Mcclain, Brittany, Harvey, Adam, Hart, Kristin, Huynh, Said, Beydoun, Amaiak, Chilingaryan, Victor, Doan, Brian, Droker, Hui, Gong, Sanaz, Karimi, Frank, Lin, Krishna, Polaka, Akshay, Shah, Anh, Tran, Salma, Akhter, Ali, Malekniazi, Rup, Tandan, Michael, Hehir, Waqar, Waheed, Shannon, Lucy, Michael, Weiss, Jane, Distad, Susan, Strom, Sharon, Downing, Bryan, Kim, Tulio, Bertorini, Thomas, Arnold, Kendrick, Henderson, Rekha, Pillai, Liu, Ye, Lauren, Wheeler, Jasmine, Hewlett, Mollie, Vanderhook, Richard, Nowak, Daniel, Dicapua, Benison, Keung, Aditya, Kumar, Huned, Patwa, Kimberly, Robeson, Irene, Yang, Joan, Nye, and Hong, Vu

Subjects
Adult, Male, 0301 basic medicine, medicine.medical_specialty, Clinical Neurology, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized, Placebo, Article, Antibodies, Post-intervention, law.invention, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Randomized controlled trial, Refractory, law, Internal medicine, Monoclonal, Myasthenia Gravis, Medicine and Health Sciences, Humans, Medicine, Humanized, Science & Technology, business.industry, Middle Aged, Eculizumab, Complement Inactivating Agents, Female, Treatment Outcome, EFFICACY, medicine.disease, Myasthenia gravis, Clinical trial, 030104 developmental biology, SAFETY, Neurosciences & Neurology, Neurology (clinical), business, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, COMPLEMENT INHIBITOR ECULIZUMAB, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, medicine.drug
Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti–acetylcholine receptor–positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension.MethodsPatients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study.ResultsA total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1–4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected.ConclusionEculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population.ClinicalTrials.gov IdentifierREGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624.Classification of EvidenceThis study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo.

Published
2020

17. Lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 4 autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis: Where are we and where are we going?

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Hidenori Matsuo, Osamu Higuchi, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Shunya Nakane, and Yasuhiro Maeda

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, business.industry, Immunology, Neuroscience (miscellaneous), Autoantibody, Lipoprotein receptor-related protein, medicine.disease, Neuromuscular junction, Myasthenia gravis, Endocrinology, medicine.anatomical_structure, Immunology and Microbiology (miscellaneous), Internal medicine, medicine, Neurology (clinical), business, Acetylcholine receptor
Published
2019

18. Efficacy of salbutamol monotherapy in slow‐channel congenital myasthenic syndrome caused by a novel mutation in CHRND

Author

Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, N. Tawara, Akihiro Mukaino, Shunya Nakane, Paniz Farshadyeganeh, Kinji Ohno, Satoshi Yamashita, and Yoshimune Yamasaki

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Physiology, business.industry, Congenital myasthenic syndrome, medicine.disease, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Physiology (medical), Internal medicine, Cardiology, medicine, Salbutamol, Neurology (clinical), Channel (broadcasting), business, Novel mutation, medicine.drug
Published
2021

19. Anti-Kir4.1 Antibodies in Multiple Sclerosis: Specificity and Pathogenicity

Author

Osamu Higuchi, Shunya Nakane, Yasuhiro Maeda, Mitsuharu Ueda, Akihiro Mukaino, Michie Imamura, and Hidenori Matsuo

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Kir4.1, Central nervous system, Disease, Review, multiple sclerosis, Catalysis, Inorganic Chemistry, lcsh:Chemistry, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Immune system, medicine, Animals, Humans, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying, neurological disease, Molecular Biology, lcsh:QH301-705.5, Spectroscopy, Autoantibodies, biology, business.industry, Multiple sclerosis, Organic Chemistry, Autoantibody, General Medicine, medicine.disease, Potassium channel, Computer Science Applications, 030104 developmental biology, medicine.anatomical_structure, lcsh:Biology (General), lcsh:QD1-999, Immunology, biology.protein, Antibody, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, autoantibody, Astrocyte, potassium channel
Abstract

The glial cells in the central nervous system express diverse inward rectifying potassium channels (Kir). They express multiple Kir channel subtypes that are likely to have distinct functional roles related to their differences in conductance, and sensitivity to intracellular and extracellular factors. Dysfunction in a major astrocyte potassium channel, Kir4.1, appears as an early pathological event underlying neuronal phenotypes in several neurological diseases. The autoimmune effects on the potassium channel have not yet been fully described in the literature. However, several research groups have reported that the potassium channels are an immune target in patients with various neurological disorders. In 2012, Srivastava et al. reported about Kir4.1, a new immune target for autoantibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Follow-up studies have been conducted by several research groups, but no clear conclusion has been reached. Most follow-up studies, including ours, have reported that the prevalence of Kir4.1-seropositive patients with MS was lower than that in the initial study. Therefore, we extensively review studies on the method of antibody testing, seroprevalence of MS, and other neurological diseases in patients with MS. Finally, based on the role of Kir4.1 in MS, we consider whether it could be an immune target in this disease.

Published
2020

20. Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility: the interface between clinical immunology and neurogastroenterology

Author

Yoshihiro Ogawa, Shunya Nakane, Akihiro Mukaino, and Eikichi Ihara

Subjects
autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, medicine.medical_treatment, Immunology, Disease, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Primary Dysautonomias, Bioinformatics, Autoimmune Diseases, Rheumatic Diseases, Cancer screening, medicine, Immunology and Allergy, Humans, Autoantibodies, Neurons, Patient Care Team, business.industry, Autoantibody, Dysautonomia, Immunotherapy, RC581-607, Neurogastroenterology, medicine.disease, autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, ganglionic acetylcholine receptor, Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility, Immunologic diseases. Allergy, medicine.symptom, business, Gastrointestinal Motility, autoantibody
Abstract

Autoimmune gastrointestinal dysmotility (AGID), an idiopathic or paraneoplastic phenomenon, is a clinical form of limited autoimmune dysautonomia. The symptoms of AGID and gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases are overlapping. Antineuronal autoantibodies are often detected in patients with AGID. Autoantibodies play a key role in GI dysmotility; however, whether they cause neuronal destruction is unknown. Hence, the connection between the presence of these autoantibodies and the specific interference in synaptic transmission in the plexus ganglia of the enteric nervous system has to be determined. The treatment options for AGID are not well-defined. However, theoretically, immunomodulatory therapies have been shown to be effective and are therefore used as the first line of treatment. Nonetheless, diverse combined immunomodulatory therapies should be considered for intractable cases of AGID. We recommend comprehensive autoimmune evaluation and cancer screening for clinical diagnosis of AGID. Univocal diagnostic criteria, treatment protocols, and outcome definitions for AGID are required for prompt diagnosis and treatment and appropriate management of immunotherapy, which will circumvent the need for surgeries and improve patient outcome. In conclusion, AGID, a disease at the interface of clinical immunology and neurogastroenterology, requires further investigations and warrants cooperation among specialists, especially clinical immunologists, gastroenterologists, and neurologists.

Published
2020

21. Detecting gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with systemic sclerosis using anti-gAChR antibodies

Author

Yasuhiro Maeda, Kunihiro Ichinose, Osamu Higuchi, Hideki Nakamura, Shunya Nakane, Akihiro Mukaino, Masataka Umeda, Shin-ya Kawashiri, Atsushi Kawakami, and Hidenori Matsuo

Subjects
Male, Ganglionic acetylcholine receptor, medicine.medical_specialty, lcsh:Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Disease, Receptors, Nicotinic, Autoantigens, Gastroenterology, Serology, Pathogenesis, 03 medical and health sciences, Autoantibody, 0302 clinical medicine, Internal medicine, Gastrointestinal manifestations, medicine, Humans, Immunoprecipitation, skin and connective tissue diseases, Gastrointestinal dysmotility, Aged, Autoantibodies, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, Scleroderma, Systemic, integumentary system, biology, business.industry, Middle Aged, Rheumatology, Cross-Sectional Studies, biology.protein, Systemic sclerosis, Female, 030211 gastroenterology & hepatology, lcsh:RC925-935, Antibody, Endostatin, Gastrointestinal Motility, business, Research Article
Abstract

Background: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) complicated by gastrointestinal dysmotility are difficult to treat and have high mortality. To clarify the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal manifestations, we aimed to demonstrate the association among the clinical features of SSc, the serological markers, the autoantibodies against nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at autonomic ganglia (gAChR). Methods: Fifty patients were enrolled and divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of gastrointestinal manifestations, and the characteristics were analyzed between these two groups. We measured biomarkers and the autoantibodies against two gAChRα3 and β4 subunits to test sera samples. Furthermore, patients were classified based on the presence or absence of anti-gAChR autoantibodies, and their clinical features were compared. Results: In patients with SSc and gastrointestinal manifestations, digital ulcers were more frequent (p = 0.050) and VEGF expression was significantly higher (p = 0.038). Seven subjects with SSc were seropositive for α3 subunit, whereas one patient was seropositive for β4 subunit. The mean level of anti-gAChRα3 autoantibodies in SSc patients with gastrointestinal manifestations was significantly higher than that in SSc patients without gastrointestinal manifestations (p = 0.001). The group of patients with SSc and gAChR autoantibodies had significantly higher endostatin levels (p = 0.046). Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate that clinical characteristics of SSc patients with seropositivity for gAChR autoantibodies. Patients with SSc have circulating autoantibodies against gAChR, which may contribute to gastrointestinal manifestations associated with this disease, suggesting that gAChR-mediated autonomic neurotransmission may provide a pathomechanism for gastrointestinal dysmotility in SSc., Arthritis Research and Therapy, 22(1), art.no.32; 2020

Published
2020

22. Behçet's Disease with Severe Autonomic Disorders Developing after Herpes Zoster

Author

Yushiro Endo, Atsushi Kawakami, Serina Koto, Akihiro Mukaino, Hiroaki Kawano, Masataka Umeda, Tomohiro Koga, Osamu Higuchi, Shunya Nakane, Toshimasa Shimizu, Hideki Nakamura, and Kunihiro Ichinose

Subjects
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, Orthostatic intolerance, Case Report, herpes zoster, Behcet's disease, Disease, 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology, Autonomic disorder, Proinflammatory cytokine, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Internal Medicine, Medicine, Humans, Interferon gamma, Behçet's disease, business.industry, Behcet Syndrome, autonomic disorder, Interleukin, virus diseases, General Medicine, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, Interleukin 10, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases, Immunology, IL-10, Cytokines, 030211 gastroenterology & hepatology, Female, business, Immunosuppressive Agents, medicine.drug
Abstract

A 58-year-old Japanese woman with herpes zoster developed Behcet's disease (BD) with symptoms including orthostatic intolerance as an autonomic disorder. Multiple immune-suppressive therapies and a β-blocker successfully controlled both the disease activity of BD and the autonomic disorders. A cytokine multiplex analysis of her serum revealed the elevation of proinflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNFα), and interferon gamma (IFN-γ)] and a low IL-10 concentration. IL-10 production is reported to be important for defense against herpes zoster virus (VZV). Insufficient IL-10 production is reported in BD. The reactivation of VZV with this cytokine profile suggests that BD will develop with various symptoms, including severe autonomic disorders., Internal Medicine, 59(8), pp.1099-1104; 2020

Published
2020

23. Ganglionic Acetylcholine Receptor Antibodies and Autonomic Dysfunction in Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases

Author

Tadashi Nakamura, Atsushi Kawakami, Saori Abe, Hiroto Tsuboi, Hideki Nakamura, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Osamu Higuchi, Akihiro Mukaino, Takayuki Sumida, Michie Imamura, Hidenori Matsuo, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
rheumatoid arthritis, ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibody, systemic sclerosis, autonomic dysfunction, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Review, lcsh:Chemistry, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, 0302 clinical medicine, systemic lupus erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, Receptors, Cholinergic, lcsh:QH301-705.5, Ganglia, Autonomic, Spectroscopy, biology, General Medicine, Pathophysiology, Computer Science Applications, Sjogren's Syndrome, Rheumatoid arthritis, medicine.symptom, Antibody, Autonomic Nervous System, Catalysis, Inorganic Chemistry, 03 medical and health sciences, Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System, Rheumatic Diseases, medicine, Animals, Humans, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Acetylcholine receptor, Autoantibodies, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, Scleroderma, Systemic, business.industry, Organic Chemistry, Autoantibody, Dysautonomia, medicine.disease, lcsh:Biology (General), lcsh:QD1-999, Sjögren’s syndrome, Immunology, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, biology.protein, Autonomic neuropathy, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, autonomic neuropathy
Abstract

Autonomic neuropathy has been reported in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) including Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. However, the pathophysiological mechanism underlying autonomic dysfunction remains unknown to researchers. On the other hand, autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an acquired immune-mediated disorder, which causes dysautonomia that is mediated by autoantibodies against ganglionic acetylcholine receptors (gAChRs). The purpose of this review was to describe the characteristics of autonomic disturbance through previous case reports and the functional tests used in these studies and address the importance of anti-gAChR antibodies. We have established luciferase immunoprecipitation systems to detect antibodies against gAChR in the past and determined the prevalence of gAChR antibodies in various autoimmune diseases including AAG and rheumatic diseases. Autonomic dysfunction, which affects lower parasympathetic and higher sympathetic activity, is usually observed in ARD. The anti-gAChR antibodies may play a crucial role in autonomic dysfunction observed in ARD. Further studies are necessary to determine whether anti-gAChR antibody levels are correlated with the severity of autonomic dysfunction in ARD.

Published
2020

24. CSF TACI and BAFF levels in patients with primary CNS lymphoma as novel diagnostic biomarkers

Author

Hirotaka Matsui, Hironori Mizutani, Akitake Mukasa, Shunya Nakane, N. Tawara, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Hideo Nakamura, Akihiro Mukaino, Tokunori Ikeda, Keishi Makino, and Mari Watari

Subjects
Necrosis, business.industry, General Neuroscience, Primary central nervous system lymphoma, Brief Communication, medicine.disease, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Primary CNS Lymphoma, hemic and lymphatic diseases, 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis, Immunology, Medicine, Diagnostic biomarker, In patient, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, business, B-cell activating factor, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Glioblastoma
Abstract

We used an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay to measure pretreatment B cell‐activating factor belonging to the tumour necrosis factor family (BAFF) and transmembrane activator and CAML‐interactor (TACI) levels in CSF and serum collected from patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and control groups. The decision tree analysis of CSF TACI and BAFF levels for patients with a PCNSL diagnosis showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity when we attempted to differentiate PCNSL from glioblastoma and CNS inflammatory diseases. The combination of CSF TACI and BAFF levels may thus be a novel and useful diagnostic biomarker of PCNSL.

Published
2018

25. Immune checkpoint inhibitors in the onset of myasthenia gravis with hyperCKemia

Author

Takayuki Kosaka, Shigeaki Suzuki, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Yoshihiro Komohara, Shiori Yamakawa, Masatoshi Jinnin, Toshihiro Kimura, Keisuke Watanabe, Azusa Miyashita, Hironobu Ihn, Shunya Nakane, Satoshi Fukushima, and Akihiro Mukaino

Subjects
Poor prognosis, biology, business.industry, General Neuroscience, Immune checkpoint inhibitors, Conclusive evidence, Brief Communication, medicine.disease, Myasthenia gravis, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis, Immunology, biology.protein, Medicine, Neurology (clinical), Nivolumab, Antibody, business, Adverse effect, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Myositis
Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors sometimes cause neuromuscular adverse events. Although a few cases of myasthenia gravis with hyperCKemia triggered by immune checkpoint inhibitors have been described, conclusive evidence remains limited. We conducted a systematic review of published cases of myasthenia gravis with hyperCKemia related to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Moreover, we tested anti‐striational antibodies in the case of myasthenia gravis with myositis after nivolumab administration. We located 17 published case reports. Anti‐striational antibodies were tested in six cases and five cases were positive. Our systematic analyses revealed poor prognosis in myasthenia gravis combined hyperCKemia with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Published
2018

26. Long-term efficacy and safety of eculizumab in Japanese patients with generalized myasthenia gravis: A subgroup analysis of the REGAIN open-label extension study

Author

Hiroyuki Murai, Akiyuki Uzawa, Yasushi Suzuki, Tomihiro Imai, Hirokazu Shiraishi, Hidekazu Suzuki, Meinoshin Okumura, Fanny O’Brien, Jing-Jing Wang, Kenji P. Fujita, Kimiaki Utsugisawa, Claudio Gabriel Mazia, Miguel Wilken, Fabio Barroso, Juliet Saba, Marcelo Rugiero, Mariela Bettini, Marcelo Chaves, Gonzalo Vidal, Alejandra Dalila Garcia, Jan De Bleecker, Guy Van den Abeele, Kathy de Koning, Katrien De Mey, Rudy Mercelis, Délphine Mahieu, Linda Wagemaekers, Philip Van Damme, Annelies Depreitere, Caroline Schotte, Charlotte Smetcoren, Olivier Stevens, Sien Van Daele, Nicolas Vandenbussche, Annelies Vanhee, Sarah Verjans, Jan Vynckier, Ann D'Hondt, Petra Tilkin, Alzira Alves de Siqueira Carvalho, Igor Dias Brockhausen, David Feder, Daniel Ambrosio, Pamela César, Ana Paula Melo, Renata Martins Ribeiro, Rosana Rocha, Bruno Bezerra Rosa, Thabata Veiga, Luiz Augusto da Silva, Murilo Santos Engel, Jordana Gonçalves Geraldo, Maria da Penha Ananias Morita, Erica Nogueira Coelho, Gabriel Paiva, Marina Pozo, Natalia Prando, Debora Dada Martineli Torres, Cristiani Fernanda Butinhao, Gustavo Duran, Tamires Cristina Gomes da Silva, Luiz Otavio Maia Gonçalves, Lucas Eduardo Pazetto, Tomás Augusto Suriane Fialho, Luciana Renata Cubas Volpe, Luciana Souza Duca, Acary Souza Bulle Oliveira, Ana Carolina Amaral Andrade, Marcelo Annes, Liene Duarte Silva, Valeria Cavalcante Lino, Wladimir Pinto, Natália Assis, Fernanda Carrara, Carolina Miranda, Iandra Souza, Patricia Fernandes, Zaeem Siddiqi, Cecile Phan, Jeffrey Narayan, Derrick Blackmore, Ashley Mallon, Rikki Roderus, Elizabeth Watt, Jana Junkerova, Barbora Kurkova, Katarina Reguliova, Olga Zapletalova, Jiri Pitha, Iveta Novakova, Michaela Tyblova, Ivana Jurajdova, Marcela Wolfova, Henning Andersen, Thomas Harbo, Lotte Vinge, Susanne Krogh, Anita Mogensen, John Vissing, Joan Højgaard, Nanna Witting, Anne Mette Ostergaard Autzen, Jane Pedersen, Juha-Pekka Eralinna, Mikko Laaksonen, Olli Oksaranta, Tuula Harrison, Jaana Eriksson, Csilla Rozsa, Melinda Horvath, Gabor Lovas, Judit Matolcsi, Gyorgyi Szabo, Gedeonne Jakab, Brigitta Szabadosne, Giovanni Antonini, Antonella Di Pasquale, Matteo Garibaldi, Stefania Morino, Fernanda Troili, Laura Fionda, Allessandro Filla, Teresa Costabile, Enrico Marano, Francesco Saccà, Angiola Fasanaro, Angela Marsili, Giorgia Puorro, Renato Mantegazza, Carlo Antozzi, Silvia Bonanno, Giorgia Camera, Alberta Locatelli, Lorenzo Maggi, Maria Pasanisi, Angela Campanella, Amelia Evoli, Paolo Emilio Alboini, Valentina D'Amato, Raffaele Iorio, Tetsuya Kanai, Naoki Kawaguchi, Masahiro Mori, Yoko Kaneko, Akiko Kanzaki, Eri Kobayashi, Katsuhisa Masaki, Dai Matsuse, Takuya Matsushita, Taira Uehara, Misa Shimpo, Maki Jingu, Keiko Kikutake, Yumiko Nakamura, Yoshiko Sano, Yuriko Nagane, Ikuko Kamegamori, Tomoko Tsuda, Yuko Fujii, Kazumi Futono, Yukiko Ozawa, Aya Mizugami, Yuka Saito, Miyuki Morikawa, Makoto Samukawa, Sachiko Kamakura, Eriko Miyawaki, Teiichiro Mitazaki, Masakatsu Motomura, Akihiro Mukaino, Shunsuke Yoshimura, Shizuka Asada, Seiko Yoshida, Shoko Amamoto, Tomomi Kobashikawa, Megumi Koga, Yasuko Maeda, Kazumi Takada, Mihoko Takada, Masako Tsurumaru, Yumi Yamashita, Tetsuya Akiyama, Koichi Narikawa, Ohito Tano, Kenichi Tsukita, Rikako Kurihara, Fumie Meguro, Yusuke Fukuda, Miwako Sato, Soichiro Funaka, Tomohiro Kawamura, Masayuki Makamori, Masanori Takahashi, Namie Taichi, Tomoya Hasuike, Eriko Higuchi, Hisako Kobayashi, Kaori Osakada, Emiko Tsuda, Shun Shimohama, Takashi Hayashi, Shin Hisahara, Jun Kawamata, Takashi Murahara, Masaki Saitoh, Shuichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Yamamoto, Yoko Ishiyama, Naoko Ishiyama, Mayuko Noshiro, Rumi Takeyama, Kaori Uwasa, Ikuko Yasuda, Anneke van der Kooi, Marianne de Visser, Tamar Gibson, Carlos Casasnovas, Maria Antonia Alberti Aguilo, Christian Homedes-Pedret, Natalia Julia Palacios, Laura Diez Porras, Valentina Velez Santamaria, Ana Lazaro, Exuperio Diez Tejedor, Pilar Gomez Salcedo, Mireya Fernandez-Fournier, Pedro Lopez Ruiz, Francisco Javier Rodriguez de Rivera, Maria Sastre, Josep Gamez, Pilar Sune, Maria Salvado, Gisela Gili, Gonzalo Mazuela, Isabel Illa, Elena Cortes Vicente, Jordi Diaz-Manera, Luis Antonio Querol Gutierrez, Ricardo Rojas Garcia, Nuria Vidal, Elisabet Arribas-Ibar, Fredrik Piehl, Albert Hietala, Lena Bjarbo, Ihsan Sengun, Arzu Meherremova, Pinar Ozcelik, Bengu Balkan, Celal Tuga, Muzeyyen Ugur, Sevim Erdem-Ozdamar, Can Ebru Bekircan-Kurt, Nazire Pinar Acar, Ezgi Yilmaz, Yagmur Caliskan, Gulsah Orsel, Husnu Efendi, Seda Aydinlik, Hakan Cavus, Ayse Kutlu, Gulsah Becerikli, Cansu Semiz, Ozlem Tun, Murat Terzi, Baki Dogan, Musa Kazim Onar, Sedat Sen, Tugce Kirbas Cavdar, Adife Veske, Fiona Norwood, Aikaterini Dimitriou, Jakit Gollogly, Mohamed Mahdi-Rogers, Arshira Seddigh, Giannis Sokratous, Gal Maier, Faisal Sohail, Saiju Jacob, Girija Sadalage, Pravin Torane, Claire Brown, Amna Shah, Sivakumar Sathasivam, Heike Arndt, Debbie Davies, Dave Watling, Anthony Amato, Thomas Cochrane, Mohammed Salajegheh, Kristen Roe, Katherine Amato, Shirli Toska, Gil Wolfe, Nicholas Silvestri, Kara Patrick, Karen Zakalik, Jonathan Katz, Robert Miller, Marguerite Engel, Dallas Forshew, Elena Bravver, Benjamin Brooks, Sarah Plevka, Maryanne Burdette, Scott Cunningham, Mohammad Sanjak, Megan Kramer, Joanne Nemeth, Clara Schommer, Scott Tierney, Vern Juel, Jeffrey Guptill, Lisa Hobson-Webb, Janice Massey, Kate Beck, Donna Carnes, John Loor, Amanda Anderson, Robert Pascuzzi, Cynthia Bodkin, John Kincaid, Riley Snook, Sandra Guingrich, Angela Micheels, Vinay Chaudhry, Andrea Corse, Betsy Mosmiller, Andrea Kelley, Doreen Ho, Jayashri Srinivasan, Michal Vytopil, Jordan Jara, Nicholas Ventura, Stephanie Scala, Cynthia Carter, Craig Donahue, Carol Herbert, Elaine Weiner, Sharmeen Alam, Jonathan McKinnon, Laura Haar, Naya McKinnon, Karan Alcon, Kaitlyn McKenna, Nadia Sattar, Kevin Daniels, Dennis Jeffery, Miriam Freimer, Joseph Chad Hoyle, John Kissel, Julie Agriesti, Sharon Chelnick, Louisa Mezache, Colleen Pineda, Filiz Muharrem, Chafic Karam, Julie Khoury, Tessa Marburger, Harpreet Kaur, Diana Dimitrova, James Gilchrist, Brajesh Agrawal, Mona Elsayed, Stephanie Kohlrus, Angela Andoin, Taylor Darnell, Laura Golden, Barbara Lokaitis, Jenna Seelback, Srikanth Muppidi, Neelam Goyal, Sarada Sakamuri, Yuen T. So, Shirley Paulose, Sabrina Pol, Lesly Welsh, Ratna Bhavaraju-Sanka, Alejandro Tobon Gonzales, Lorraine Dishman, Floyd Jones, Anna Gonzalez, Patricia Padilla, Amy Saklad, Marcela Silva, Mohamed Kazamel, Mohammad Alsharabati, Liang Lu, Kenkichi Nozaki, Sandi Mumfrey-Thomas, Amy Woodall, Tahseen Mozaffar, Tiyonnoh Cash, Namita Goyal, Gulmohor Roy, Veena Mathew, Fatima Maqsood, Brian Minton, H. James Jones, Jeffrey Rosenfeld, Rebekah Garcia, Laura Echevarria, Sonia Garcia, Michael Pulley, Shachie Aranke, Alan Ross Berger, Jaimin Shah, Yasmeen Shabbir, Lisa Smith, Mary Varghese, Laurie Gutmann, Ludwig Gutmann, Nivedita Jerath, Christopher Nance, Andrea Swenson, Heena Olalde, Nicole Kressin, Jeri Sieren, Richard Barohn, Mazen Dimachkie, Melanie Glenn, April McVey, Mamatha Pasnoor, Jeffery Statland, Yunxia Wang, Tina Liu, Kelley Emmons, Nicole Jenci, Jerry Locheke, Alex Fondaw, Kathryn Johns, Gabrielle Rico, Maureen Walsh, Laura Herbelin, Charlene Hafer-Macko, Justin Kwan, Lindsay Zilliox, Karen Callison, Valerie Young, Beth DiSanzo, Kerry Naunton, Michael Benatar, Martin Bilsker, Khema Sharma, Anne Cooley, Eliana Reyes, Sara-Claude Michon, Danielle Sheldon, Julie Steele, James Howard Jr, Manisha Chopra, Rebecca Traub, Tuan Vu, Lara Katzin, Terry McClain, Brittany Harvey, Adam Hart, Kristin Huynh, Said Beydoun, Amaiak Chilingaryan, Victor Doan, Brian Droker, Hui Gong, Sanaz Karimi, Frank Lin, Krishna Pokala, Akshay Shah, Anh Tran, Salma Akhter, Ali Malekniazi, Rup Tandan, Michael Hehir, Waqar Waheed, Shannon Lucy, Michael Weiss, Jane Distad, Susan Strom, Sharon Downing, Bryan Kim, Richard Nowak, Daniel Dicapua, Benison Keung, Aditya Kumar, Huned Patwa, Kimberly Robeson, Irene Yang, Joan Nye, Hong Vu, H., Murai, A., Uzawa, Y., Suzuki, T., Imai, H., Shiraishi, H., Suzuki, M., Okumura, F., O'Brien, J. -J., Wang, K. P., Fujita, K., Utsugisawa, Gabriel Mazia 11, Claudio, Wilken 11, Miguel, Barroso 11, Fabio, Saba 11, Juliet, Rugiero 12, Marcelo, Bettini 12, Mariela, Chaves 12, Marcelo, Vidal 12, Gonzalo, Dalila Garcia 12, Alejandra, De Bleecker 13, Jan, Van den Abeele 13, Guy, de Koning 13, Kathy, De Mey 13, Katrien, Mercelis 14, Rudy, Mahieu 14, Délphine, Wagemaekers 14, Linda, Van Damme 15, Philip, Depreitere 16, Annelie, Schotte 16, Caroline, Smetcoren 16, Charlotte, Stevens 16, Olivier, Van Daele 16, Sien, Vandenbussche 16, Nicola, Vanhee 16, Annelie, Verjans 16, Sarah, Vynckier 16, Jan, D'Hondt 16, Ann, Tilkin 16, Petra, Alves de Siqueira Carvalho 17, Alzira, Dias Brockhausen 17, Igor, Feder 17, David, Ambrosio 17, Daniel, César 17, Pamela, Paula Melo 17, Ana, Martins Ribeiro 17, Renata, Rocha 17, Rosana, Bezerra Rosa 17, Bruno, Veiga 17, Thabata, Augusto da Silva 17, Luiz, Santos Engel 17, Murilo, Gonçalves Geraldo 17, Jordana, da Penha Ananias Morita 18, Maria, Nogueira Coelho 18, Erica, Paiva 18, Gabriel, Pozo 18, Marina, Prando 18, Natalia, Dada Martineli Torres 18, Debora, Fernanda Butinhao 18, Cristiani, Duran 18, Gustavo, Cristina Gomes da Silva 18, Tamire, Otavio Maia Gonçalves 18, Luiz, Eduardo Pazetto 18, Luca, Augusto Suriane Fialho 18, Tomá, Renata Cubas Volpe 18, Luciana, Souza Duca 18, Luciana, Souza Bulle Oliveira 19, Acary, Carolina Amaral Andrade 19, Ana, Annes 19, Marcelo, Duarte Silva 19, Liene, Cavalcante Lino 19, Valeria, Pinto 19, Wladimir, Assis 19, Natália, Carrara 19, Fernanda, Miranda 19, Carolina, Souza 19, Iandra, Fernandes 19, Patricia, Siddiqi 20, Zaeem, Phan 20, Cecile, Narayan 20, Jeffrey, Blackmore 20, Derrick, Mallon 20, Ashley, Roderus 20, Rikki, Watt 20, Elizabeth, Junkerova 21, Jana, Kurkova 21, Barbora, Reguliova 21, Katarina, Zapletalova 21, Olga, Pitha 22, Jiri, Novakova 22, Iveta, Tyblova 22, Michaela, Jurajdova 22, Ivana, Wolfova 22, Marcela, Andersen 23, Henning, Harbo 23, Thoma, Vinge 23, Lotte, Krogh 23, Susanne, Mogensen 23, Anita, Vissing 24, John, Højgaard 24, Joan, Witting 24, Nanna, Mette Ostergaard Autzen 24, Anne, Pedersen 24, Jane, Eralinna 25, Juha-Pekka, Laaksonen 25, Mikko, Oksaranta 25, Olli, Harrison 25, Tuula, Eriksson 25, Jaana, Rozsa 26, Csilla, Horvath 26, Melinda, Lovas 26, Gabor, Matolcsi 26, Judit, Szabo 26, Gyorgyi, Jakab 26, Gedeonne, Szabadosne 26, Brigitta, Antonini 27, Giovanni, Di Pasquale 27, Antonella, Garibaldi 27, Matteo, Morino 27, Stefania, Troili 27, Fernanda, Fionda 27, Laura, Filla, Allessandro, Costabile, Teresa, Marano, Enrico, Sacca', Francesco, Fasanaro, Angiola, Marsili, Angela, Puorro, Giorgia, Mantegazza 29, Renato, Antozzi 29, Carlo, Bonanno 29, Silvia, Camera 29, Giorgia, Locatelli 29, Alberta, Maggi 29, Lorenzo, Pasanisi 29, Maria, Campanella 29, Angela, Evoli 30, Amelia, Emilio Alboini 30, Paolo, D'Amato 30, Valentina, Iorio 30, Raffaele, Kanai 31, Tetsuya, Kawaguchi 31, Naoki, Mori 31, Masahiro, Kaneko 31, Yoko, Kanzaki 31, Akiko, Kobayashi 31, Eri, Masaki 32, Katsuhisa, Matsuse 32, Dai, Matsushita 32, Takuya, Uehara 32, Taira, Shimpo 32, Misa, Jingu 32, Maki, Kikutake 32, Keiko, Nakamura 32, Yumiko, Sano 32, Yoshiko, Nagane 33, Yuriko, Kamegamori 33, Ikuko, Tsuda 33, Tomoko, Fujii 33, Yuko, Futono 33, Kazumi, Ozawa 33, Yukiko, Mizugami 33, Aya, Saito 33, Yuka, Morikawa 34, Miyuki, Samukawa 34, Makoto, Kamakura 34, Sachiko, Miyawaki 34, Eriko, Mitazaki 35, Teiichiro, Motomura 35, Masakatsu, Mukaino 35, Akihiro, Yoshimura 35, Shunsuke, Asada 35, Shizuka, Yoshida 35, Seiko, Amamoto 35, Shoko, Kobashikawa 35, Tomomi, Koga 35, Megumi, Maeda 35, Yasuko, Takada 35, Kazumi, Takada 35, Mihoko, Tsurumaru 35, Masako, Yamashita 35, Yumi, Akiyama 36, Tetsuya, Narikawa 36, Koichi, Tano 36, Ohito, Tsukita 36, Kenichi, Kurihara 36, Rikako, Meguro 36, Fumie, Fukuda 36, Yusuke, Sato 36, Miwako, Funaka 37, Soichiro, Kawamura 37, Tomohiro, Makamori 37, Masayuki, Takahashi 37, Masanori, Taichi 37, Namie, Hasuike 37, Tomoya, Higuchi 37, Eriko, Kobayashi 37, Hisako, Osakada 37, Kaori, Tsuda 38, Emiko, Shimohama 38, Shun, Hayashi 38, Takashi, Hisahara 38, Shin, Kawamata 38, Jun, Murahara 38, Takashi, Saitoh 38, Masaki, Suzuki 38, Shuichiro, Yamamoto 38, Daisuke, Ishiyama 38, Yoko, Ishiyama 38, Naoko, Noshiro 38, Mayuko, Takeyama 38, Rumi, Uwasa 38, Kaori, Yasuda 38, Ikuko, van der Kooi 39, Anneke, de Visser 39, Marianne, Gibson 39, Tamar, Casasnovas 40, Carlo, Antonia Alberti Aguilo 40, Maria, Homedes-Pedret 40, Christian, Julia Palacios 40, Natalia, Diez Porras 40, Laura, Velez Santamaria 40, Valentina, Lazaro 40, Ana, Diez Tejedor 41, Exuperio, Gomez Salcedo 41, Pilar, Fernandez-Fournier 41, Mireya, Lopez Ruiz 41, Pedro, Javier Rodriguez de Rivera 41, Francisco, Sastre 41, Maria, Gamez 42, Josep, Sune 42, Pilar, Salvado 42, Maria, Gili 42, Gisela, Mazuela 42, Gonzalo, Illa 43, Isabel, Cortes Vicente 43, Elena, Diaz-Manera 43, Jordi, Antonio Querol Gutierrez 43, Lui, Rojas Garcia 43, Ricardo, Vidal 43, Nuria, Arribas-Ibar 43, Elisabet, Piehl 44, Fredrik, Hietala 44, Albert, Bjarbo 44, Lena, Sengun 45, Ihsan, Meherremova 45, Arzu, Ozcelik 45, Pinar, Balkan 45, Bengu, Tuga 45, Celal, Ugur 45, Muzeyyen, Erdem-Ozdamar 46, Sevim, Ebru Bekircan-Kurt 46, Can, Pinar Acar 46, Nazire, Yilmaz 46, Ezgi, Caliskan 46, Yagmur, Orsel 46, Gulsah, Efendi 47, Husnu, Aydinlik 47, Seda, Cavus 47, Hakan, Kutlu 47, Ayse, Becerikli 47, Gulsah, Semiz 47, Cansu, Tun 47, Ozlem, Terzi 48, Murat, Dogan 48, Baki, Kazim Onar 48, Musa, Sen 48, Sedat, Kirbas Cavdar 48, Tugce, Veske 48, Adife, Norwood 49, Fiona, Dimitriou 49, Aikaterini, Gollogly 49, Jakit, Mahdi-Rogers 49, Mohamed, Seddigh 49, Arshira, Sokratous 49, Gianni, Maier 49, Gal, Sohail 49, Faisal, Jacob 50, Saiju, Sadalage 50, Girija, Torane 50, Pravin, Brown 50, Claire, Shah 50, Amna, Sathasivam 51, Sivakumar, Arndt 51, Heike, Davies 51, Debbie, Watling 51, Dave, Amato 52, Anthony, Cochrane 52, Thoma, Salajegheh 52, Mohammed, Roe 52, Kristen, Amato 52, Katherine, Toska 52, Shirli, Wolfe 53, Gil, Silvestri 53, Nichola, Patrick 53, Kara, Zakalik 53, Karen, Katz 54, Jonathan, Miller 54, Robert, Engel 54, Marguerite, Forshew 54, Dalla, Bravver 55, Elena, Brooks 55, Benjamin, Plevka 55, Sarah, Burdette 55, Maryanne, Cunningham 55, Scott, Sanjak 55, Mohammad, Kramer 55, Megan, Nemeth 55, Joanne, Schommer 55, Clara, Tierney 55, Scott, Juel 56, Vern, Guptill 56, Jeffrey, Hobson-Webb 56, Lisa, Massey 56, Janice, Beck 56, Kate, Carnes 56, Donna, Loor 56, John, Anderson 56, Amanda, Pascuzzi 57, Robert, Bodkin 57, Cynthia, Kincaid 57, John, Snook 57, Riley, Guingrich 57, Sandra, Micheels 57, Angela, Chaudhry 58, Vinay, Corse 58, Andrea, Mosmiller 58, Betsy, Kelley 58, Andrea, Ho 59, Doreen, Srinivasan 59, Jayashri, Vytopil 59, Michal, Jara 59, Jordan, Ventura 59, Nichola, Scala 59, Stephanie, Carter 59, Cynthia, Donahue 59, Craig, Herbert 59, Carol, Weiner 59, Elaine, Alam 59, Sharmeen, McKinnon 60, Jonathan, Haar 60, Laura, McKinnon 60, Naya, Alcon 60, Karan, McKenna 60, Kaitlyn, Sattar 60, Nadia, Daniels 60, Kevin, Jeffery 60, Denni, Freimer 61, Miriam, Chad Hoyle 61, Joseph, Kissel 61, John, Agriesti 61, Julie, Chelnick 61, Sharon, Mezache 61, Louisa, Pineda 61, Colleen, Muharrem 61, Filiz, Karam 62, Chafic, Khoury 62, Julie, Marburger 62, Tessa, Kaur 62, Harpreet, Dimitrova 62, Diana, Gilchrist 63, Jame, Agrawal 63, Brajesh, Elsayed 63, Mona, Kohlrus 63, Stephanie, Andoin 63, Angela, Darnell 63, Taylor, Golden 63, Laura, Lokaitis 63, Barbara, Seelback 63, Jenna, Muppidi 64, Srikanth, Goyal 64, Neelam, Sakamuri 64, Sarada, T So 64, Yuen, Paulose 64, Shirley, Pol 64, Sabrina, Welsh 64, Lesly, Bhavaraju-Sanka 65, Ratna, Tobon Gonzales 65, Alejandro, Dishman 65, Lorraine, Jones 65, Floyd, Gonzalez 65, Anna, Padilla 65, Patricia, Saklad 65, Amy, Silva 65, Marcela, Kazamel 66, Mohamed, Alsharabati 66, Mohammad, Lu 66, Liang, Nozaki 66, Kenkichi, Mumfrey-Thomas 66, Sandi, Woodall 66, Amy, Mozaffar 67, Tahseen, Cash 67, Tiyonnoh, Goyal 67, Namita, Roy 67, Gulmohor, Mathew 67, Veena, Maqsood 67, Fatima, Minton 67, Brian, James Jones 68, H, Rosenfeld 68, Jeffrey, Garcia 68, Rebekah, Echevarria 68, Laura, Garcia 68, Sonia, Pulley 69, Michael, Aranke 69, Shachie, Ross Berger 69, Alan, Shah 69, Jaimin, Shabbir 69, Yasmeen, Smith 69, Lisa, Varghese 69, Mary, Gutmann 70, Laurie, Gutmann 70, Ludwig, Jerath 70, Nivedita, Nance 70, Christopher, Swenson 70, Andrea, Olalde 70, Heena, Kressin 70, Nicole, Sieren 70, Jeri, Barohn 71, Richard, Dimachkie 71, Mazen, Glenn 71, Melanie, McVey 71, April, Pasnoor 71, Mamatha, Statland 71, Jeffery, Wang 71, Yunxia, Liu 71, Tina, Emmons 71, Kelley, Jenci 71, Nicole, Locheke 71, Jerry, Fondaw 71, Alex, Johns 71, Kathryn, Rico 71, Gabrielle, Walsh 71, Maureen, Herbelin 71, Laura, Hafer-Macko 72, Charlene, Kwan 72, Justin, Zilliox 72, Lindsay, Callison 72, Karen, Young 72, Valerie, DiSanzo 72, Beth, Naunton 72, Kerry, Benatar 73, Michael, Bilsker 73, Martin, Sharma 73, Khema, Cooley 73, Anne, Reyes 73, Eliana, Michon 73, Sara-Claude, Sheldon 73, Danielle, Steele 73, Julie, Howard Jr 74, Jame, Karam 74, Chafic, Chopra 74, Manisha, Traub 74, Rebecca, Vu 75, Tuan, Katzin 75, Lara, McClain 75, Terry, Harvey 75, Brittany, Hart 75, Adam, Huynh 75, Kristin, Beydoun 76, Said, Chilingaryan 76, Amaiak, Doan 76, Victor, Droker 76, Brian, Gong 76, Hui, Karimi 76, Sanaz, Lin 76, Frank, McClain 76, Terry, Pokala 76, Krishna, Shah 76, Akshay, Tran 76, Anh, Akhter 76, Salma, Malekniazi 76, Ali, Tandan 77, Rup, Hehir 77, Michael, Waheed 77, Waqar, Lucy 77, Shannon, Weiss 78, Michael, Distad 78, Jane, Strom 78, Susan, Downing 78, Sharon, Kim 78, Bryan, Nowak 79, Richard, Dicapua 79, Daniel, Keung 79, Benison, Kumar 79, Aditya, Patwa 79, Huned, Robeson 79, Kimberly, Yang 79, Irene, Nye 79, Joan, and Hong Vu

Subjects
Male, Pediatrics, Myasthenia gravi, Open-label extension study, Complement inhibitor, 0302 clinical medicine, Quality of life, Japan, Medicine and Health Sciences, Medicine, 030212 general & internal medicine, Myasthenia gravis, education.field_of_study, MG-ADL, Japanese patient, Eculizumab, Middle Aged, HLA, MG-QoL15, Treatment Outcome, Neurology, Female, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, COMPLEMENT INHIBITOR ECULIZUMAB, medicine.drug, Adult, medicine.medical_specialty, Population, Clinical Neurology, Subgroup analysis, Placebo, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized, 03 medical and health sciences, Refractory, Asian People, Myasthenia Gravis, Humans, education, Aged, Science & Technology, business.industry, Neurosciences, medicine.disease, Complement Inactivating Agents, Japanese patients, ONSET, Neurology (clinical), Neurosciences & Neurology, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

The terminal complement inhibitor eculizumab was shown to improve myasthenia gravis-related symptoms in the 26-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled REGAIN study (NCT01997229). In this 52-week sub-analysis of the open-label extension of REGAIN (NCT02301624), eculizumab's efficacy and safety were assessed in 11 Japanese and 88 Caucasian patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalized myasthenia gravis. For patients who had received placebo during REGAIN, treatment with open-label eculizumab resulted in generally similar outcomes in the Japanese and Caucasian populations. Rapid improvements were maintained for 52 weeks, assessed by change in score from open-label extension baseline to week 52 (mean [standard error]) using the following scales (in Japanese and Caucasian patients, respectively): Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (-2.4 [1.34] and - 3.3 [0.65]); Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (-2.9 [1.98] and - 4.3 [0.79]); Myasthenia Gravis Composite (-4.5 [2.63] and - 4.9 [1.19]); and Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life 15-item questionnaire (-8.6 [5.68] and - 6.5 [1.93]). Overall, the safety of eculizumab was consistent with its known safety profile. In this interim sub-analysis, the efficacy and safety of eculizumab in Japanese and Caucasian patients were generally similar, and consistent with the overall REGAIN population. ispartof: JOURNAL OF THE NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES vol:407 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

Published
2019

27. Autoimmune postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

Author

Mari Watari, Osamu Higuchi, Hidenori Matsuo, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Shunya Nakane, Teruaki Masuda, Makoto Nakajima, Akihiro Mukaino, Yasuhiro Maeda, Yukiko Mori, and Yanosuke Kouzaki

Subjects
inorganic chemicals, medicine.medical_specialty, biology, business.industry, General Neuroscience, technology, industry, and agriculture, food and beverages, 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology, Brief Communication, Serum samples, complex mixtures, Gastroenterology, humanities, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Internal medicine, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, biology.protein, Medicine, In patient, Neurology (clinical), Antibody, Brief Communications, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and circulating antiganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies. We reviewed clinical assessments of Japanese patients with POTS, and determined the presence of gAChR antibodies in serum samples from those patients. Luciferase immunoprecipitation systems detected anti‐gAChR α3 and β4 antibodies in the sera from POTS (29%). Antecedent infections were frequently reported in patients in POTS patients. Moreover, autoimmune markers and comorbid autoimmune diseases were also frequent in seropositive POTS patients. Anti‐gAChR antibodies were detectable in significant number of patients with POTS, and POTS entailed the element of autoimmune basis.

Published
2018

28. Safety and efficacy of eculizumab in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalised myasthenia gravis (REGAIN): a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study

Author

Kazumi Takada, Vladislav Abramov, Seiko Yoshida, Pinar Ozcelik, Carolina Miranda, Jennifer Kane, Kaitlyn McKenna, Natasha Campbell, Sharon P. Nations, Shitiz Kumar Sriwastava, Yuko Fujii, Mayumi Murata, Linda Wagemaekers, Angela Andoin, Mollie Vanderhook, Yoshinori Okubo, Martin Bilsker, Taira Uehara, Vera Bril, Julia Wanschitz, Stanislava Toncrova, Mariela Bettini, Kazumi Futono, Shachie Aranke, Yool-hee Kim, Hiroyuki Murai, Anne Nyrhinen, Vinay Chaudhry, Raffaele Iorio, Takashi Kanda, Brittany Harvey, Francisco Javier Rodriguez de Rivera, Henning Andersen, Marianne de Visser, Miwako Sato, Yasuhiro Maeda, Fabienne Deruelle, Marina Pozo, Adam Hart, Masaki Saitoh, Wladimir Bocca Vieira de Rezende Pinto, Said R. Beydoun, Lindsay Zilliox, Akihiro Mukaino, Cinzia Caserta, Mahi Jasinarachchi, Andrea M. Corse, Nikoletta Papadopoulou, JuYoung Kwon, Fernanda Carrara, Juliet Saba, Masayuki Makamori, Vittorio Frasca, Luciana Souza Duca, Hoo Nam Kang, C. Trebst, Celile Phan, Muzeyyen Ugur, Eduardo Ng, Jonathan McKinnon, Hila Bali Kuperman, David Feder, Judit Matolcsi, Jiri Pitha, Martin Stangel, Kate Beck, Gabriel Paiva, Diego Lopergolo, Katrien De Mey, Hidenori Matsuo, Lucas Eduardo Pazetto, Eugene Lai, Amanda Anderson, Ann D'Hondt, Tetsuya Akiyama, Beverly Fyfe, Bella Gross, Elisabet Arribas-Ibar, Kathy de Koning, Gulmohor Roy, Dmitry Pokhabov, Maria Johanna Keijzers, Nicholas Ventura, Tessa Marburger, John Loor, Ji Eun Lee, Alessandro Filla, Celal Tuga, Stephanie Scala, Rudy Mercelis, Marc H. De Baets, Hisako Kobayashi, Stanislav Vohanka, Ana Paula Macagnan, Ana Carolina Amaral de Andrade, Heike Arndt, Giovanni Antonini, Yumi Yamashita, Gwendal Le Masson, Sonia Garcia, Sarah Verjans, James F. Howard, Zaeem A. Siddiqi, Yuen T. So, Megumi Koga, Exuperio Diez Tejedor, Teresa Costabile, Mihoko Takada Takada, Steve Hopkins, Jonathan S. Katz, Charlene Hafer-Macko, Erica Nogueira Coelho, Hung Youl Seok, Carol Herbert, Yuriko Nagane, Didem Altiparmak, Sachiko Kamakura, Mohammad Sanjak, Caroline Moreau, Jordi Díaz-Manera, Sivakumar Sathasivam, Michael Vytopil, Amelia Evoli, Masakatsu Motomura, Ester Reggio, Guy Van den Abeele, Hélène Zéphir, Asya Yarmoschuk, Jasmine Hewlett, Amy Wilson, Sachie Fukui, Cavit Boz, Iandra Souza, Morgane Gaboreau, Ivana Jurajdova, Sonia Decressac, Yong Seo Koo, Valentina Pegoraro, Seung Min Kim, Benison Keung, Rosana Rocha, Nanna Witting, John Vissing, Elaine Weiner, Ali Malekniazi, Larisa Babenko, Amanda C. Guidon, Gal Maier, Charlotte Smetcoren, Robert M. Pascuzzi, Domenico Marco Bonifati, Yumiko Nakamura, Tamires Cristina Gomes da Silva, Takashi Murahara, Sarah Plevka, Tomoko Tsuda, John C. Kincaid, Arnaud Lacour, Ibrez Bandukwala, Alan R. Berger, Chang Nyoung Lee, Jae-Sung Lim, Vern C. Juel, Tulio E. Bertorini, Valeria Cavalcante Lino, Namie Taichi, Ju-Hong Min, Josep Gamez, Nelly Greenbereg, William S. David, Srikanth Muppidi, Husnu Efendi, Pedro Lopez Ruiz, Baki Dogan, Cansu Semiz, Natalia Julia Palacios, Sharon Downing, Paola Cudia, Daniel Jacobs, Can Ebru Bekircan-Kurt, Takayasu Fukudome, Kristen Roe, Lena Bjarbo, Nicole Kassebaum, Makoto Samukawa, Shizuka Asada, Christina Dheel, Fatima Maqsood, Eun Bi Hwang, Kevin Daniels, Sevim Erdem-Ozdamar, Olivier Stevens, Claudio Mazia, Karan Alcon, Sibel Gazioglu, Keiko Kikutake, Luis Lay, Petra Tilkin, Corrado Angelini, Derrick Blackmore, Kimiaki Utsugisawa, Despoina Charalambous, Tuula Harrison, Kristin Huynh, Huned S. Patwa, Laura Echevarria, Henrique Mohr, Christian Homedes-Pedret, Richard J. Barohn, Byung Jo Kim, Daniel DiCapua, Terry McClain, Debora Dada Martineli Torres, Maria Salvado Figueras, Ana Paula Melo, Riley Snook, Miki Ogawa, Marcelo Annes, Yuka Saito, Isabel Illa, Evanthia Bernitsas, Nicole Smalley, Molly Lindsay, Robert G. Miller, Olga Azrilin, Silvia Bonanno, Evgeniya Kosykh, Marcela Wolfova, Olivier Outteryck, Shirli Toska, Anna Kostera-Pruszczyk, HyeJin Ra, Rup Tandan, Sotirios Papagiannopoulos, Natasha Willlems, Anne Mette Ostergaard Autzen, Meinoshin Okumura, Patrick Vermersch, Sarada Sakamuri, Maria Antonia Alberti Aguilo, Shigemi Shimose, Cynthia Carter, Ira Blount, Lisa Thompson, Maurer Pereira Martins, Richard Nowak, Hyung Seok Lee, Anna Kaminska, Joan Bratton, Nazire Pinar Acar, Junichi Ogasawara, Mohamed Mahdi-Rogers, Teiichiro Mitazaki, Marek Čierny, Craig Donahue, Jaya Trivedi, Neelam Goyal, Gonzalo Vidal, Brandy Quarles, Akiko Kanzaki, Yasuko Ikeda, Tomomi Kobashikawa, Morris Brown, Daisuke Yamamoto, Michel Deneve, Denis Korobko, Beth DiSanzo, Benedikt Schoser, Heidi Boterhoven, Eri Kobayashi, Maoko Shirane, Cristiani Fernanda Butinhao, Eriko Higuchi, Takashi Hayashi, Masanori Takahashi, Anne-Cécile Wielanek-Bachelet, Benjamin Rix Brooks, Emanuela Onesti, Tahseen Mozaffar, Liang Lu, Sevasti Bostantzopoulou, Christophe Vial, Shawn J. Bird, Sandi Mumfrey-Thomas, Julie Khoury, Kara Patrick, Kenichi Tsukita, Yoshiko Sano, Hiroshi Nakazora, David P. Richman, Gavin Brown, Yoon-Ho Hong, Tomohiro Kawamura, Igor Dias Brockhausen, Ye Liu, Acary Souza Bulle Oliveira, Soichiro Funaka, Tomoya Hasuike, Frank Lin, Luis Antonio Querol Gutierrez, Namita Goyal, Elena Pinzan, Michelle Mellion, Silvia Messina, Christopher Lindberg, Csilla Rozsa, J. Chad Hoyle, Yoko Kaneko, Gustavo Duran, Francesco Patti, Arshira Seddigh, Ele Kim Perez, Jayashri Srinivasan, Michael Benatar, Philip Van Damme, Salma Akhter, Daniel Ambrosio, Maria Salvado, Floyd Jones, Mark Sivak, Anneke J. van der Kooi, Karen Callison, Catherine Nigro, Rebekah Garcia, Thomas Arnold, Hideki Arima, Brigid Crabtree, Mary Varghese, Aditya Kumar, Miri Kim, Fanny O'Brien, Naya McKinnon, Lauren Wheeler, Hong Vu, Shunsuke Yoshimura, Masatoshi Omoto, Jeffrey T. Guptill, Maria Gabriele, Francoise Bouhour, Veena Mathew, Ritsu Nakayama, Rosa Hasan, Francesco Saccà, Mohammed Salajegheh, Diana Dimitrova, Alzira Alves de Siqueira Carvalho, Maurizio Inghilleri, George Sachs, Rekha Pillai, Enrico Marano, Monika Konyane, Anh Tran, Seda Aydinlik, Kendrick Henderson, Fumie Meguro, Alexandre Guerreiro, Amaiak Chilingaryan, Tiyonnoh Cash, Jun Kawamata, Julie Steele, Helene Gervais-Bernard, Thomas Harbo, Alejandra Dalila Garcia, Musa Kazim Onar, Sabrina Sacconi, Carlos Casasnovas Pons, Nadezhda Malkova, Denis Sazonov, Mireya Fernandez-Fournier, Karin Fricke, Laurie Gutmann, Amy Saklad, Clara Schommer, Sandra Taber, Fiona Norwood, Tugce Kirbas Cavdar, Monique Miesen, Fernanda Troili, Masanori Watanabe, Ratna Bhavaraju-Sanka, Ted M. Burns, Sari Atula, Faisal Sohail, Barbora Kurkova, Brigitta Szabadosne, Luciana Renata Cubas Volpe, Jane Pedersen, Jing Jing Wang, Masashi Inoue, Antonella Di Pasquale, Megan Kramer, Magda Chmelikova, Mehran Soltani, Tuan Vu, Laura Fionda, Eliz Agopian, Susan Shin, Anthony A. Amato, Lotte Vinge, Hakan Cavus, Gil I. Wolfe, Joan Nye, Delphine Mahieu, Miguel Wilken, Markus Färkkilä, Catherine Faber, Erin Manning, Emiko Tsuda, Rami Massie, Paolo Emilio Alboini, Yasmeen Shabbir, Angela Campanella, Aikaterini Dimitriou, Marcelo Rugiero, Cynthia Bodkin, Gyorgyi Szabo, Sharon Halton, Akshay Shah, Yasuko Maeda, Hans D. Katzberg, Yagmur Caliskan, Jaimin Shah, Katsuhisa Masaki, Valentina Damato, Blanka Andersson, Aline de Cassia Santos, Masahiro Mori, Renato Mantegazza, Misa Shimpo, Joanne Nemeth, Livia Dezsi, Anna De Rosa, Doreen Ho, Julie Moutarde, Efstathia Mitropoulou, Amy Woodall, Angela Micheels, László Vécsei, Byoung Joon Kim, Lisa Smith, Tomihiro Imai, Harpreet Kaur, Lorenzo Maggi, Jane Distad, Anita Mogensen, Ericka Simpson, Anne Cooley, Eliana Reyes, Ha Young Shin, Da Yoon Koh, Stefan Gingele, Susan Strom, Ezgi Yilmaz, Manisha Chopra, Anna Melnikova, Edouard Millois, Ludwig Gutmann, Miriam Freimer, Hirokazu Shinozaki, Heena Olalde, Kerry Naunton, Shunya Nakane, Ihsan Sengun, Dimos-Dimitrios Mitsikostas, Edina Varga, Juha-Pekka Erälinna, Wolfgang Löscher, Jan De Bleecker, Elena Bravver, Ana Lazaro, Eun Bin Cho, Thomas Cochrane, Jonathan Goldstein, Lisa D. Hobson-Webb, Michaela Tyblova, Angela Marsil, J. Edward Hartmann, Miyuki Morikawa, Karen Zakalik, Claude Desnuelle, Iveta Novakova, Michiaki Koga, Melinda Horvath, Luiz Otavio Maia Gonçalves, Elena Cortes Vicente, Alejandro Tobon Gonzalez, Stanley H. Appel, Brian Minton, Daniele Orrico, Brian Droker, Jacob Kaufman, Erica Coelho, Chafic Karam, Mikko Laaksonen, Katherine Amato, Jinmyoung Seok, Natalia Prando, Pauline Lahaut, Kaori Osakada, Phillipa Lamont, Alexandros Tselis, Daiane da Cruz Pacheco, Joan Højgaard, Hirokazu Shiraishi, Josef Bednarik, Stefania Morino, Mark Levine-Weinberg, Sara-Claude Michon, Yusuke Fukuda, Michael Pulley, Koichi Narikawa, Ricardo Rojas Garcia, Betsy Mosmiller, James Gilchrist, Maria da Penha Morita Ananias, Maryanne Burdette, Shingo Konno, Janelle Butters, Stephan Wenninger, Debbie Davies, Thomas Skripuletz, Mohammad Alsharabati, Katarina Reguliova, Gabor Lovas, Yuichiro Gondo, Miju Shin, HyeLim Lee, Bruno Bezerra Rosa, Michael D. Weiss, Martha Zampaki, Andrea Caramma, Jeffrey V. Rosenfeld, Cigdem Ozen Aydin, Shara Holzberg, Hélène Merle, Olga Zapletalova, Kurt-Wolfram Suehs, Robert P. Lisak, Dale J. Lange, Albert Hietala, Sedat Sen, Elena Giacomelli, Akiyuki Uzawa, Tomás Augusto Suriane Fialho, Matteo Garibaldi, Nadia Sattar, Wai-Kuen Leong, Lindsay Kaplan, Tetsuya Kanai, Jaana Eriksson, Akiko Nagaishi, Khema Sharma, Tamar Gibson, Mohamed Kazamel, Yulia Nesterova, Sascha Alvermann, Murat Terzi, Taylor Darnell, Donna Carnes, Victor Balyazin, John T. Kissel, Waqar Waheed, Jana Junkerova, Kimberly Robeson, Nicholas Vlaikidis, Nicholas Silvestri, Fredrik Piehl, Maurício André Gheller Friedrich, Shun Shimohama, Nuria Vidal, Eleni Kasioti, H. James Jones, Michael K. Hehir, Luiz Augusto da Silva, Dave Watling, Leslie Roberts, Casey Faigle, Caroline Hourquin, Olli Oksaranta, Tomomi Imamura, Shin Hisahara, Dennis Jeffery, Marie-Hélène Soriani, M. Kawai, Chieko Yoshikawa, Roseann Keo, Angela Genge, Michelangelo Maestri Tassoni, Milvia Pleitez, Michael H. Rivner, Maki Jingu, Giorgia Puorro, Andrea Swenson, Saiju Jacob, Carolina Ortea, Shuichiro Suzuki, Marguerite Engel, Ikuko Kamegamori, SangAe Park, Guilhem Sole, Lesly Welsh, Nichole Gallatti, Jakit Gollogly, Daniel Jons, Yasuteru Sano, Takuya Matsushita, Omar Khan, Maria Cristina Gori, Thabata Veiga, Julie Agriesti, Jos Maessen, Sandra Guinrich, Francesca Bevilacqua, Laura Haar, Jordana Gonçalves Geraldo, Justin Y. Kwan, Hidekazu Suzuki, Dai Matsuse, Kelly Jia, Ozlem Tun, Lara Katzin, Yasushi Suzuki, Shannon Lucy, Carlo Antozzi, ANS - Neuroinfection & -inflammation, Neurology, Howard, James F, Utsugisawa, Kimiaki, Benatar, Michael, Murai, Hiroyuki, Barohn, Richard J, Illa, Isabel, Jacob, Saiju, Vissing, John, Burns, Ted M, Kissel, John T, Muppidi, Srikanth, Nowak, Richard J, O'Brien, Fanny, Wang, Jing-Jing, Mantegazza, Renato, Mazia, Claudio Gabriel, Wilken, Miguel, Ortea, Carolina, Saba, Juliet, Rugiero, Marcelo, Bettini, Mariela, Vidal, Gonzalo, Garcia, Alejandra Dalila, Lamont, Phillipa, Leong, Wai-Kuen, Boterhoven, Heidi, Fyfe, Beverly, Roberts, Leslie, Jasinarachchi, Mahi, Willlems, Natasha, Wanschitz, Julia, Löscher, Wolfgang, De Bleecker, Jan, Van den Abeele, Guy, de Koning, Kathy, De Mey, Katrien, Mercelis, Rudy, Wagemaekers, Linda, Mahieu, Delphine, Van Damme, Philip, Smetcoren, Charlotte, Stevens, Olivier, Verjans, Sarah, D'Hondt, Ann, Tilkin, Petra, Alves de Siqueira Carvalho, Alzira, Hasan, Rosa, Dias Brockhausen, Igor, Feder, David, Ambrosio, Daniel, Melo, Ana Paula, Rocha, Rosana, Rosa, Bruno, Veiga, Thabata, Augusto da Silva, Luiz, Gonçalves Geraldo, Jordana, da Penha Morita Ananias, Maria, Nogueira Coelho, Erica, Paiva, Gabriel, Pozo, Marina, Prando, Natalia, Dada Martineli Torres, Debora, Fernanda Butinhao, Cristiani, Coelho, Erica, Renata Cubas Volpe, Luciana, Duran, Gustavo, Gomes da Silva, Tamires Cristina, Otavio Maia Gonçalves, Luiz, Pazetto, Lucas Eduardo, Souza Duca, Luciana, Suriane Fialho, Tomás Augusto, Gheller Friedrich, Maurício André, Guerreiro, Alexandre, Mohr, Henrique, Pereira Martins, Maurer, da Cruz Pacheco, Daiane, Macagnan, Ana Paula, de Cassia Santos, Aline, Bulle Oliveira, Acary Souza, Amaral de Andrade, Ana Carolina, Annes, Marcelo, Cavalcante Lino, Valeria, Pinto, Wladimir, Miranda, Carolina, Carrara, Fernanda, Souza, Iandra, Genge, Angela, Massie, Rami, Campbell, Natasha, Bril, Vera, Katzberg, Han, Soltani, Mehran, Ng, Eduardo, Siddiqi, Zaeem, Phan, Celile, Blackmore, Derrick, Vohanka, Stanislav, Bednarik, Josef, Chmelikova, Magda, Cierny, Marek, Toncrova, Stanislava, Junkerova, Jana, Kurkova, Barbora, Reguliova, Katarina, Zapletalova, Olga, Pitha, Jiri, Novakova, Iveta, Tyblova, Michaela, Wolfova, Marcela, Jurajdova, Ivana, Andersen, Henning, Harbo, Thoma, Vinge, Lotte, Mogensen, Anita, Højgaard, Joan, Witting, Nanna, Autzen, Anne Mette, Pedersen, Jane, Färkkilä, Marku, Atula, Sari, Nyrhinen, Anne, Erälinna, Juha-Pekka, Laaksonen, Mikko, Oksaranta, Olli, Eriksson, Jaana, Harrison, Tuula, Desnuelle, Claude, Sacconi, Sabrina, Soriani, Marie-Hélène, Decressac, Sonia, Moutarde, Julie, Lahaut, Pauline, Solé, Guilhem, Le Masson, Gwendal, Wielanek-Bachelet, Anne-Cécile, Gaboreau, Morgane, Moreau, Caroline, Wilson, Amy, Vial, Christophe, Bouhour, Françoise, Gervais-Bernard, Helene, Merle, Hélène, Hourquin, Caroline, Lacour, Arnaud, Outteryck, Olivier, Vermersch, Patrick, Zephir, Hélène, Millois, Edouard, Deneve, Michel, Deruelle, Fabienne, Schoser, Benedikt, Wenninger, Stephan, Stangel, Martin, Alvermann, Sascha, Gingele, Stefan, Skripuletz, Thoma, Suehs, Kurt-Wolfram, Trebst, Corinna, Fricke, Karin, Papagiannopoulos, Sotirio, Bostantzopoulou, Sevasti, Vlaikidis, Nichola, Zampaki, Martha, Papadopoulou, Nikoletta, Mitsikostas, Dimos-Dimitrio, Kasioti, Eleni, Mitropoulou, Efstathia, Charalambous, Despoina, Rozsa, Csilla, Horvath, Melinda, Lovas, Gabor, Matolcsi, Judit, Szabo, Gyorgyi, Szabadosne, Brigitta, Vecsei, Laszlo, Dezsi, Livia, Varga, Edina, Konyane, Monika, Gross, Bella, Azrilin, Olga, Greenbereg, Nelly, Bali Kuperman, Hila, Antonini, Giovanni, Garibaldi, Matteo, Morino, Stefania, Troili, Fernanda, Di Pasquale, Antonella, Filla, Alessandro, Costabile, Teresa, Marano, Enrico, Sacca, Francesco, Marsili, Angela, Puorro, Giorgia, Maestri Tassoni, Michelangelo, De Rosa, Anna, Bonanno, Silvia, Antozzi, Carlo, Maggi, Lorenzo, Campanella, Angela, Angelini, Corrado, Cudia, Paola, Pegoraro, Valentina, Pinzan, Elena, Bevilacqua, Francesca, Orrico, Daniele, Bonifati, Domenico Marco, Evoli, Amelia, Alboini, Paolo Emilio, D'Amato, Valentina, Iorio, Raffaele, Inghilleri, Maurizio, Fionda, Laura, Frasca, Vittorio, Giacomelli, Elena, Gori, Maria, Lopergolo, Diego, Onesti, Emanuela, Gabriele, Maria, Patti, Francesco, Salvatore Caramma, Andrea, Messina, Silvia, Reggio, Ester, Caserta, Cinzia, Uzawa, Akiyuki, Kanai, Tetsuya, Mori, Masahiro, Kaneko, Yoko, Kanzaki, Akiko, Kobayashi, Eri, Masaki, Katsuhisa, Matsuse, Dai, Matsushita, Takuya, Uehara, Taira, Shimpo, Misa, Jingu, Maki, Kikutake, Keiko, Nakamura, Yumiko, Sano, Yoshiko, Nagane, Yuriko, Kamegamori, Ikuko, Fujii, Yuko, Futono, Kazumi, Tsuda, Tomoko, Saito, Yuka, Suzuki, Hidekazu, Morikawa, Miyuki, Samukawa, Makoto, Kamakura, Sachiko, Shiraishi, Hirokazu, Mitazaki, Teiichiro, Motomura, Masakatsu, Mukaino, Akihiro, Yoshimura, Shunsuke, Asada, Shizuka, Kobashikawa, Tomomi, Koga, Megumi, Maeda, Yasuko, Takada, Kazumi, Takada, Mihoko Takada, Yamashita, Yumi, Yoshida, Seiko, Suzuki, Yasushi, Akiyama, Tetsuya, Narikawa, Koichi, Tsukita, Kenichi, Meguro, Fumie, Fukuda, Yusuke, Sato, Miwako, Matsuo, Hidenori, Fukudome, Takayasu, Gondo, Yuichiro, Maeda, Yasuhiro, Nagaishi, Akiko, Nakane, Shunya, Okubo, Yoshinori, Okumura, Meinoshin, Funaka, Soichiro, Kawamura, Tomohiro, Makamori, Masayuki, Takahashi, Masanori, Hasuike, Tomoya, Higuchi, Eriko, Kobayashi, Hisako, Osakada, Kaori, Taichi, Namie, Tsuda, Emiko, Hayashi, Takashi, Hisahara, Shin, Imai, Tomihiro, Kawamata, Jun, Murahara, Takashi, Saitoh, Masaki, Shimohama, Shun, Suzuki, Shuichiro, Yamamoto, Daisuke, Konno, Shingo, Imamura, Tomomi, Inoue, Masashi, Murata, Mayumi, Nakazora, Hiroshi, Nakayama, Ritsu, Ikeda, Yasuko, Ogawa, Miki, Shirane, Maoko, Kanda, Takashi, Kawai, Motoharu, Koga, Michiaki, Ogasawara, Junichi, Omoto, Masatoshi, Sano, Yasuteru, Arima, Hideki, Fukui, Sachie, Shimose, Shigemi, Shinozaki, Hirokazu, Watanabe, Masanori, Yoshikawa, Chieko, van der Kooi, Anneke, de Visser, Marianne, Gibson, Tamar, Maessen, Jo, de Baets, Marc, Faber, Catherine, Keijzers, Maria Johanna, Miesen, Monique, Kostera-Pruszczyk, Anna, Kaminska, Anna, Kim, Byung-Jo, Lee, Chang Nyoung, Koo, Yong Seo, Seok, Hung Youl, Kang, Hoo Nam, Ra, Hyejin, Kim, Byoung Joon, Cho, Eun Bin, Lee, Hyelim, Min, Ju-Hong, Seok, Jinmyoung, Koh, Da Yoon, Kwon, Juyoung, Lee, Jieun, Park, Sangae, Hong, Yoon-Ho, Lim, Jae-Sung, Kim, Miri, Kim, Seung Min, Kim, Yool-hee, Lee, Hyung Seok, Shin, Ha Young, Hwang, Eun Bi, Shin, Miju, Sazonov, Deni, Yarmoschuk, Asya, Babenko, Larisa, Malkova, Nadezhda, Melnikova, Anna, Korobko, Deni, Kosykh, Evgeniya, Pokhabov, Dmitry, Nesterova, Yulia, Abramov, Vladislav, Balyazin, Victor, Casasnovas Pons, Carlo, Alberti Aguilo, Maria, Homedes-Pedret, Christian, Palacios, Natalia Julia, Lazaro, Ana, Diez Tejedor, Exuperio, Fernandez-Fournier, Mireya, Lopez Ruiz, Pedro, Rodriguez de Rivera, Francisco Javier, Salvado Figueras, Maria, Gamez, Josep, Salvado, Maria, Cortes Vicente, Elena, Diaz-Manera, Jordi, Querol Gutierrez, Lui, Rojas Garcia, Ricardo, Vidal, Nuria, Arribas-Ibar, Elisabet, Piehl, Fredrik, Hietala, Albert, Bjarbo, Lena, Lindberg, Christopher, Jons, Daniel, Andersson, Blanka, Sengun, Ihsan, Ozcelik, Pinar, Tuga, Celal, Ugur, Muzeyyen, Boz, Cavit, Altiparmak, Didem, Gazioglu, Sibel, Ozen Aydin, Cigdem, Erdem-Ozdamar, Sevim, Bekircan-Kurt, Can Ebru, Yilmaz, Ezgi, Acar, Nazire Pinar, Caliskan, Yagmur, Efendi, Husnu, Aydinlik, Seda, Cavus, Hakan, Semiz, Cansu, Tun, Ozlem, Terzi, Murat, Dogan, Baki, Onar, Musa Kazim, Sen, Sedat, Cavdar, Tugce Kirba, Norwood, Fiona, Dimitriou, Aikaterini, Gollogly, Jakit, Mahdi-Rogers, Mohamed, Seddigh, Arshira, Maier, Gal, Sohail, Faisal, Sathasivam, Sivakumar, Arndt, Heike, Davies, Debbie, Watling, Dave, Rivner, Michael, Hartmann, J. Edward, Quarles, Brandy, Smalley, Nicole, Amato, Anthony, Cochrane, Thoma, Salajegheh, Mohammed, Roe, Kristen, Amato, Katherine, Toska, Shirli, Wolfe, Gil, Silvestri, Nichola, Patrick, Kara, Zakalik, Karen, Katz, Jonathan, Miller, Robert, Engel, Marguerite, Bravver, Elena, Brooks, Benjamin, Plevka, Sarah, Burdette, Maryanne, Sanjak, Mohammad, Kramer, Megan, Nemeth, Joanne, Schommer, Clara, Juel, Vern, Guptill, Jeffrey, Hobson-Webb, Lisa, Beck, Kate, Carnes, Donna, Loor, John, Anderson, Amanda, Lange, Dale, Agopian, Eliz, Goldstein, Jonathan, Manning, Erin, Kaplan, Lindsay, Holzberg, Shara, Kassebaum, Nicole, Pascuzzi, Robert, Bodkin, Cynthia, Kincaid, John, Snook, Riley, Guinrich, Sandra, Micheels, Angela, Chaudhry, Vinay, Corse, Andrea, Mosmiller, Betsy, Ho, Doreen, Srinivasan, Jayashri, Vytopil, Michael, Ventura, Nichola, Scala, Stephanie, Carter, Cynthia, Donahue, Craig, Herbert, Carol, Weiner, Elaine, Mckinnon, Jonathan, Haar, Laura, Mckinnon, Naya, Alcon, Karan, Daniels, Kevin, Sattar, Nadia, Jeffery, Denni, Mckenna, Kaitlyn, Guidon, Amanda, David, William, Dheel, Christina, Levine-Weinberg, Mark, Nigro, Catherine, Simpson, Ericka, Appel, Stanley H, Lai, Eugene, Lay, Lui, Pleitez, Milvia, Halton, Sharon, Faigle, Casey, Thompson, Lisa, Sivak, Mark, Shin, Susan, Bratton, Joan, Jacobs, Daniel, Brown, Gavin, Bandukwala, Ibrez, Brown, Morri, Kane, Jennifer, Blount, Ira, Freimer, Miriam, Hoyle, J. Chad, Agriesti, Julie, Khoury, Julie, Marburger, Tessa, Kaur, Harpreet, Dimitrova, Diana, Mellion, Michelle, Sachs, George, Crabtree, Brigid, Keo, Roseann, Perez, Ele Kim, Taber, Sandra, Gilchrist, Jame, Andoin, Angela, Darnell, Taylor, Goyal, Neelam, Sakamuri, Sarada, So, Yuen T, Welsh, Lesly Welsh, Bhavaraju-Sanka, Ratna, Tobon Gonzalez, Alejandro, Jones, Floyd, Saklad, Amy, Nations, Sharon, Trivedi, Jaya, Hopkins, Steve, Kazamel, Mohamed, Alsharabati, Mohammad, Lu, Liang, Mumfrey-Thomas, Sandi, Woodall, Amy, Richman, David, Butters, Janelle, Lindsay, Molly, Mozaffar, Tahseen, Cash, Tiyonnoh, Goyal, Namita, Roy, Gulmohor, Mathew, Veena, Maqsood, Fatima, Minton, Brian, Jones, H. Jame, Rosenfeld, Jeffrey, Garcia, Rebekah, Garcia, Sonia, Echevarria, Laura, Pulley, Michael, Aranke, Shachie, Berger, Alan Ro, Shah, Jaimin, Shabbir, Yasmeen, Smith, Lisa, Varghese, Mary, Gutmann, Laurie, Gutmann, Ludwig, Swenson, Andrea, Olalde, Heena, Hafer-Macko, Charlene, Kwan, Justin, Zilliox, Lindsay, Callison, Karen, Disanzo, Beth, Naunton, Kerry, Bilsker, Martin, Sharma, Khema, Reyes, Eliana, Cooley, Anne, Michon, Sara-Claude, Steele, Julie, Karam, Chafic Karam, Chopra, Manisha, Bird, Shawn, Kaufman, Jacob, Gallatti, Nichole, Vu, Tuan, Katzin, Lara, Mcclain, Terry, Harvey, Brittany, Hart, Adam, Huynh, Kristin, Beydoun, Said, Chilingaryan, Amaiak, Droker, Brian, Lin, Frank, Shah, Akshay, Tran, Anh, Akhter, Salma, Malekniazi, Ali, Tandan, Rup, Hehir, Michael, Waheed, Waqar, Lucy, Shannon, Weiss, Michael, Distad, Jane, Downing, Sharon, Strom, Susan, Lisak, Robert, Bernitsas, Evanthia, Khan, Omar, Kumar Sriwastava, Shitiz, Tselis, Alexandro, Jia, Kelly, Bertorini, Tulio, Arnold, Thoma, Henderson, Kendrick, Pillai, Rekha, Liu, Ye, Wheeler, Lauren, Hewlett, Jasmine, Vanderhook, Mollie, Dicapua, Daniel, Keung, Benison, Kumar, Aditya, Patwa, Huned, Robeson, Kimberly, Nye, Joan, Vu, Hong, Howard, J, Utsugisawa, K, Benatar, M, Murai, H, Barohn, R, Illa, I, Jacob, S, Vissing, J, Burns, T, Kissel, J, Muppidi, S, Nowak, R, O'Brien, F, Wang, J, Mantegazza, R, and Bonanno, S

Subjects
Male, 0301 basic medicine, medicine.medical_treatment, Drug Resistance, Adult, Aged, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized, Autoantibodies, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Myasthenia Gravis, Receptors, Cholinergic, Outcome Assessment (Health Care), Severity of Illness Index, Neurology (clinical), law.invention, Complement inhibitor, 0302 clinical medicine, Randomized controlled trial, law, Monoclonal, Receptors, Clinical endpoint, Humanized, Cholinergic, education.field_of_study, Eculizumab, Autoantibodie, Myasthenia Gravi, Settore MED/26 - NEUROLOGIA, Human, medicine.drug, Meningitides, medicine.medical_specialty, Population, Placebo, Antibodies, 03 medical and health sciences, Internal medicine, medicine, education, business.industry, Surgery, Thymectomy, 030104 developmental biology, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Background Complement is likely to have a role in refractory generalised myasthenia gravis, but no approved therapies specifically target this system. Results from a phase 2 study suggested that eculizumab, a terminal complement inhibitor, produced clinically meaningful improvements in patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalised myasthenia gravis. We further assessed the efficacy and safety of eculizumab in this patient population in a phase 3 trial. Methods We did a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study (REGAIN) in 76 hospitals and specialised clinics in 17 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Eligible patients were aged at least 18 years, with a Myasthenia Gravis-Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score of 6 or more, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) class II-IV disease, vaccination against Neisseria meningitides, and previous treatment with at least two immunosuppressive therapies or one immunosuppressive therapy and chronic intravenous immunoglobulin or plasma exchange for 12 months without symptom control. Patients with a history of thymoma or thymic neoplasms, thymectomy within 12 months before screening, or use of intravenous immunoglobulin or plasma exchange within 4 weeks before randomisation, or rituximab within 6 months before screening, were excluded. We randomly assigned participants (1:1) to either intravenous eculizumab or intravenous matched placebo for 26 weeks. Dosing for eculizumab was 900 mg on day 1 and at weeks 1, 2, and 3; 1200 mg at week 4; and 1200 mg given every second week thereafter as maintenance dosing. Randomisation was done centrally with an interactive voice or web-response system with patients stratified to one of four groups based on MGFA disease classification. Where possible, patients were maintained on existing myasthenia gravis therapies and rescue medication was allowed at the study physician's discretion. Patients, investigators, staff, and outcome assessors were masked to treatment assignment. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from baseline to week 26 in MG-ADL total score measured by worst-rank ANCOVA. The efficacy population set was defined as all patients randomly assigned to treatment groups who received at least one dose of study drug, had a valid baseline MG-ADL assessment, and at least one post-baseline MG-ADL assessment. The safety analyses included all randomly assigned patients who received eculizumab or placebo. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01997229. Findings Between April 30, 2014, and Feb 19, 2016, we randomly assigned and treated 125 patients, 62 with eculizumab and 63 with placebo. The primary analysis showed no significant difference between eculizumab and placebo (least-squares mean rank 56·6 [SEM 4·5] vs 68·3 [4·5]; rank-based treatment difference -11·7, 95% CI -24·3 to 0·96; p=0·0698). No deaths or cases of meningococcal infection occurred during the study. The most common adverse events in both groups were headache and upper respiratory tract infection (ten [16%] for both events in the eculizumab group and 12 [19%] for both in the placebo group). Myasthenia gravis exacerbations were reported by six (10%) patients in the eculizumab group and 15 (24%) in the placebo group. Six (10%) patients in the eculizumab group and 12 (19%) in the placebo group required rescue therapy. Interpretation The change in the MG-ADL score was not statistically significant between eculizumab and placebo, as measured by the worst-rank analysis. Eculizumab was well tolerated. The use of a worst-rank analytical approach proved to be an important limitation of this study since the secondary and sensitivity analyses results were inconsistent with the primary endpoint result; further research into the role of complement is needed. Funding Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

Published
2017

29. Modified method of intravenous immunoglobulin administration for patients with intractable multifocal motor neuropathy: A case report

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Yukio Ando, Hideki Nakajima, Shunya Nakane, Masakatsu Motomura, Shunsuke Yoshimura, Akira Tsujino, Susumu Kusunoki, Atsushi Nagaoka, Hirokazu Shiraishi, and Miyuki Morikawa

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, medicine.medical_specialty, Immunology, Neuroscience (miscellaneous), Modified method, Immunoglobulin G, Manual Muscle Testing, 03 medical and health sciences, Grip strength, 0302 clinical medicine, Immunology and Microbiology (miscellaneous), Medicine, biology, business.industry, Muscle weakness, medicine.disease, Surgery, 030104 developmental biology, Immunoglobulin M, biology.protein, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, Antibody, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Multifocal motor neuropathy
Abstract

Background We report a case of a 64-year-old Japanese man who was diagnosed with definite multifocal motor neuropathy and successfully treated with administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) spread over two separate weeks. Case presentation After IVIg administration (30 g/day, five consecutive days), motor function was improved, but it was not possible to maintain the muscle strength just a few months after treatment. Although plasma exchange and cyclosporine were combined, the patient developed muscle weakness just 2 weeks after initial IVIg treatment. His grip strength decreased to 0 kg, proximal upper-limb muscle strength reduced to 2/5 according to manual muscle testing, and muscle weakness developed in the proximal lower limb muscle. We modified IVIg administration protocol from five consecutive days to two separate weeks: 3 days in the first week and 2 days in the third week without changing the total dose per month. After initiation of divided IVIg protocol, muscle weakness dramatically improved, and muscle power could be kept normal. Corrected optical density value of immunoglobulin M antibodies against GM1 elevated in the all clinical course did not correlate with muscle strength improvement. Serum immunoglobulin G levels became stable in ≥2000 mg/dL, and were associated with muscle strength improvement. Conclusion Administration of IVIg over two separate weeks might be a treatment option in intractable patients with multifocal motor neuropathy.

Published
2017

30. A comprehensive analysis of the clinical characteristics and laboratory features in 179 patients with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy

Author

Hidenori Matsuo, Keiichi Nakahara, Osamu Higuchi, Mari Watari, Makoto Yamakawa, N. Tawara, Atsushi Kawakami, Akihiro Mukaino, Shunya Nakane, Maeda Yasuhiro, Koutaro Takamatsu, and Yukio Ando

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Immunology, Central nervous system, Autoimmunity, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Autoantigens, Autoimmune Diseases, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Japan, Immunology and Allergy, Medicine, Endocrine system, Humans, Receptors, Cholinergic, Ganglia, Autonomic, Acetylcholine receptor, Autoantibodies, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, biology, business.industry, Autoantibody, Myocardial Perfusion Imaging, medicine.disease, Autonomic nervous system, 030104 developmental biology, medicine.anatomical_structure, Phenotype, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases, Cohort, biology.protein, Antibody, business, Biomarkers
Abstract

The clinical importance of autoantibodies against the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) remains to be fully elucidated. We aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) in patients with gAChR autoantibodies. For this cohort investigation, serum samples were obtained from patients with AAG between 2012 and 2018 in Japan. We measured the levels of autoantibodies against gAChRα3 and gAChRβ4 and evaluated clinical features, as well as assessing the laboratory investigation results among the included patients. A total of 179 patients tested positive for antibodies, including 116 gAChRα3-positive, 13 gAChRβ4-positive, and 50 double antibody-positive patients. Seropositive AAG patients exhibited widespread autonomic dysfunction. Extra-autonomic manifestations including sensory disturbance, central nervous system involvement, endocrine disorders, autoimmune diseases, and tumours were present in 118 patients (83%). We observed significant differences in the frequencies of several autonomic and extra-autonomic symptoms among the three groups. Our 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy analysis of the entire cohort revealed that the heart-to-mediastinum ratio had decreased by 80%. The present study is the first to demonstrate that patients with AAG who are seropositive for anti-gAChRβ4 autoantibodies exhibit unique autonomic and extra-autonomic signs. Decreased cardiac uptake occurred in most cases, indicating that 123I- metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy may be useful for monitoring AAG. Therefore, our findings indicate that gAChRα3 and gAChRβ4 autoantibodies cause functional changes in postganglionic fibres in the autonomic nervous system and extra-autonomic manifestations in seropositive patients with AAG.

Published
2019

32. Antibodies to the α3 subunit of the ganglionic-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in patients with autoimmune encephalitis

Author

Yuki Kitazaki, Akio Kimura, Makoto Yamakawa, Yasuhisa Sakurai, Nobuaki Yoshikura, Shunya Nakane, Takayoshi Shimohata, Akihiro Mukaino, Osamu Higuchi, Yasushi Maeda, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Mari Watari, Masamichi Ikawa, Hidenori Matsuo, Yuki Nagasako, and Izumi Sugimoto

Subjects
Adult, Male, 0301 basic medicine, Hypersalivation, Immunology, Hashimoto Disease, Receptors, Nicotinic, Pathogenesis, Young Adult, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, medicine, Humans, Immunology and Allergy, Aged, Autoantibodies, Retrospective Studies, Acetylcholine receptor, Autoimmune encephalitis, biology, business.industry, Autoantibody, Middle Aged, Protein Subunits, Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, 030104 developmental biology, Nicotinic agonist, Neurology, biology.protein, Encephalitis, Female, Neurology (clinical), Antibody, medicine.symptom, business, Biomarkers, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Since autonomic dysfunction is closely associated with autoimmune encephalitis (AE), the objective of this study was to determine the autonomic symptoms and the prevalence of anti-α3 subunit of the ganglionic-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChRα3) antibodies in the patients with AE. We reviewed the clinical features of 19 AE patients, and specifically analyzed sera for anti-gAChRα3 antibodies using the luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assay. Cardiovascular autonomic symptoms were found to be common in patients with AE, and hypersalivation was seen only in patients with NMDAR encephalitis. LIPS detected anti-gAChRα3 antibodies in the sera from patients with AE (5/29, 26%). This study is the first to demonstrate that clinical characteristics including autonomic symptoms of AE patients with seropositivity for gAChR autoantibodies. It will be important to verify the role of gAChR antibodies in autonomic dysfunction and brain symptoms to clarify the pathogenesis of AE.

Published
2020

33. Ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases including primary biliary cirrhosis

Author

Hideki Nakamura, Osamu Higuchi, Atsushi Kawakami, Shunya Nakane, Waka Sakai, Shin-ya Kawashiri, Kunihiro Ichinose, Hiroshi Yatsuhashi, Akihiro Mukaino, Masataka Umeda, Hidenori Matsuo, Yasuhiro Maeda, Kiyoshi Migita, Atsumasa Komori, and Mami Tamai

Subjects
Adult, Male, Anti-nuclear antibody, Autoimmune Diseases, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Primary biliary cirrhosis, Rheumatology, medicine, Humans, Receptors, Cholinergic, skin and connective tissue diseases, Aged, Autoantibodies, Acetylcholine receptor, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, biology, Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary, business.industry, Autoantibody, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, Nicotinic agonist, Rheumatoid arthritis, Immunology, biology.protein, Female, Antibody, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Anti-SSA/Ro autoantibodies
Abstract

Autonomic dysfunction is closely associated with autoimmune diseases (AID) including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-ganglionic (nicotinic) acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies in patients with AID.We determined the presence of gAChR antibodies in serum samples from 146 patients (systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] = 32; rheumatoid arthritis [RA] = 43; systemic sclerosis [SSc] = 38; PBC= 33) without information regarding autonomic symptoms, as well as 34 patients with other neurological diseases [OND], and 73 healthy controls [HC]. We specifically analyzed sera for anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies using the luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assay.LIPS assay detected anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies in the sera from patients with SLE (12.5%, 4/32), RA (18.6%, 8/43), SSc (13.2%, 5/38), PBC (9.1%, 3/33), OND (2.9%, 1/34), and HC (0.0%, 1/73). There were no significant correlations between the levels of anti-gAChRα3 and -β4 antibodies, and the total titers of autoantibodies in AID.The results demonstrated a significant prevalence of anti-gAChR antibodies in patients with AID, which is independent of the production of other autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases. These anti-gAChR antibodies could mediate the autonomic dysfunction involved in the autoimmune mechanisms of AID.

Published
2016

34. Insights from the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome

Author

Waka Sakai, Hiroyuki Maruoka, Tetsuya Nakazato, Shunya Nakane, Tomo Miyagi, Hideki Nakamura, Shinji Akioka, Masatoshi Hayashi, Osamu Higuchi, Katsunori Yokoi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Takashi Tokashiki, Yasuhiro Fuseya, Akihiro Mukaino, Hidenori Matsuo, Shu ichi Igarashi, Masataka Umeda, Kazuhide Ochi, Atsushi Kawakami, and Kanako Shiroma

Subjects
Adult, Male, Serology, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Rheumatology, Humans, Medicine, Receptors, Cholinergic, In patient, Aged, Autoantibodies, Acetylcholine receptor, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, biology, business.industry, Autoantibody, Middle Aged, Serum samples, Sjogren's Syndrome, Immunology, biology.protein, Female, Antibody, Sjogren s, Autonomic neuropathy, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

It is not known whether autonomic neuropathy is a feature of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) or whether it is related to circulating antiganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies. The goal of the present study was to investigate the autonomic dysfunction in patients with SS and the associations between autonomic dysfunction, anti-gAChR antibodies, and clinical features of SS.(1) The first observational study tested for the presence of gAChR antibodies in the serum samples from 39 patients with SS (absent information regarding autonomic symptoms) and healthy volunteers. (2) In the second study, serological and clinical data from 10 Japanese patients diagnosed with SS were reviewed. These patients showed autonomic dysfunction, and luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) test was conducted to detect anti-α3 and anti-β4 gAChR antibodies. (3) In the final analysis, we combined the data of seropositive SS patients with autonomic symptom from the first study with all of the patients from the second study, and analyzed the clinical features.(1) The LIPS assay revealed that anti-gAChRα3 and anti-gAChRβ4 antibodies were detected in the sera from patients with SS (23.1%, 9/39). Five of nine SS patients had autonomic symptoms. (2) Anti-α3 and anti-β4 gAChR antibodies were also detected in 80.0% (8/10) of patients with SS with autonomic symptoms. Six of the ten patients were diagnosed as having SS after neurological symptoms developed. These seropositive patients had predominant and severe autonomic symptoms and were diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy. (3) Thirteen of fifteen SS patients with autonomic symptoms (86.7%) were seropositive for anti-gAChR antibodies, and we confirmed sicca complex, orthostatic hypotension, upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and bladder dysfunction at high rates.The present results suggest the possibility of anti-gAChR antibodies aiding the diagnostics of SS with autonomic dysfunction.

Published
2016

35. Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy: an update on diagnosis and treatment

Author

Hidenori Matsuo, Keiichi Nakahara, Shunya Nakane, Yasuhiro Maeda, Akihiro Mukaino, Makoto Yamakawa, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Mari Watari, and Osamu Higuchi

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, medicine.medical_treatment, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Receptors, Nicotinic, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System, Adrenal Cortex Hormones, polycyclic compounds, medicine, Humans, Pharmacology (medical), Pure autonomic failure, Ganglia, Autonomic, Autoantibodies, Plasma Exchange, business.industry, General Neuroscience, Autoantibody, Myocardial Perfusion Imaging, Immunoglobulins, Intravenous, Immunotherapy, medicine.disease, female genital diseases and pregnancy complications, 3-Iodobenzylguanidine, 030104 developmental biology, Immunology, Neurology (clinical), Radiopharmaceuticals, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an acquired immune-mediated disorder that leads to autonomic failure. The disorder is associated with autoantibodies to the ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR). We subsequently reported that AAG is associated with an overrepresentation of psychiatric symptoms, sensory disturbance, autoimmune diseases, and endocrine disorders. Area covered: The aim of this review was to describe AAG and highlight its pivotal pathophysiological aspects, clinical features, laboratory examinations, and therapeutic options. Expert commentary: AAG is a complex neuroimmunological disease, these days considered as an autonomic failure with extra-autonomic manifestations (and various limited forms). Further comprehension of the pathophysiology of this disease is required, especially the mechanisms of the extra-autonomic manifestations should be elucidated. There is the possibility that the co-presence of antibodies that were directed against the other subunits in both the central and peripheral nAChRs in the serum of the AAG patients. Some patients improve with immunotherapies such as IVIg and/or corticosteroid and/or plasma exchange.

Published
2018

36. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes with Diabetic Neuropathy

Author

Shuji Arakawa, Koji Maemura, Takashi Ishimatsu, Yoichi Tomichi, Yoshiyuki Doi, Norio Abiru, Akihiro Mukaino, Hiroaki Kawano, Satoki Fukae, and Akiyo Chiba

Subjects
Holter electrocardiography, Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Diabetic neuropathy, Orthostatic intolerance, Type 2 diabetes, 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology, 03 medical and health sciences, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Young Adult, 0302 clinical medicine, Diabetic Neuropathies, Internal medicine, Heart rate, medicine, Heart rate variability, Autonomic nervous system, Humans, 030212 general & internal medicine, business.industry, General Medicine, medicine.disease, Head-up tilt test, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Cardiology, Orthostatic tachycardia, Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, business
Abstract

24-year-old Japanese man with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic neuropathy was admitted to our ward to evaluate the cause of orthostatic intolerance. During a head-up tilt test, his heart rate increased from 105 to 155 beats/minute within 3 minutes, and chest discomfort began. He was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and orthostatic intolerance disappeared after β-blocker treatment. Scintigraphy using123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine showed decreased cardiac uptake. Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability for 24 hours in Holter electrocardiography demonstrated decreases in both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activities, with a greater decrease in parasympathetic activity than sympathetic activity. The relative sympathetic hyperactivity in the present patient with diabetic neuropathy seemed to be related to POTS., International Heart Journal, 59(6), pp.1488-1490; 2018

Published
2018

37. Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis presenting with extensive cerebral cortex symptoms: A case report

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Kuniyasu Wada, Takayuki Kosaka, Satoshi Yamashita, Mayumi Tsuda, and Yukio Ando

Subjects
Cerebral Cortex, Male, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon, Pathology, medicine.medical_specialty, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, business.industry, General Medicine, Xanthomatosis, Cerebrotendinous, 030204 cardiovascular system & hematology, Middle Aged, Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis, Diagnosis, Differential, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, medicine.anatomical_structure, Cerebral cortex, CYP27A1, Medicine, Humans, Surgery, Neurology (clinical), business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Published
2018

38. Anti-ganglionic AChR antibodies in Japanese patients with motility disorders

Author

Yoshihiro Ogawa, Yohei Kokudo, Hidenori Matsuo, Hajime Isomoto, Eikichi Ihara, Mistuyo Kinjo, Kazushi Deguchi, Kazuhiko Nakao, Osamu Higuchi, Hitomi Hamamoto, Shunya Nakane, Akio Ido, Yasuhiro Maeda, Akihiro Mukaino, Toshihito Ueki, Ken-ya Murata, Takeshi Yoshida, Fumisato Sasaki, Tohru Okanishi, and Hitomi Minami

Subjects
Intestinal pseudo-obstruction, Adult, Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Achalasia, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Gastroenterology, Autoimmune Diseases, Cohort Studies, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Japan, Internal medicine, medicine, Humans, Receptors, Cholinergic, Gastroparesis, Prospective Studies, Prospective cohort study, Child, Ganglia, Autonomic, Aged, Autoantibodies, Retrospective Studies, Aged, 80 and over, business.industry, Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction, Autoantibody, Dysautonomia, Hepatology, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, Esophageal Achalasia, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases, Chronic Disease, 030211 gastroenterology & hepatology, Female, medicine.symptom, business, Gastrointestinal Motility, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

The existence of several autoantibodies suggests an autoimmune basis for gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility. Whether GI motility disorders are features of autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) or are related to circulating anti-ganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies (Abs) is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between autonomic dysfunction, anti-gAChR Abs, and clinical features in patients with GI motility disorders including achalasia and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO). First study: retrospective cohort study and laboratory investigation. Samples from 123 patients with seropositive AAG were obtained between 2012 and 2017. Second study: prospective study. Samples from 28 patients with achalasia and 14 patients with CIPO were obtained between 2014 and 2016, and 2013 and 2017, respectively. In the first study, we analyzed clinical profiles of seropositive AAG patients. In the second study, we compared clinical profiles, autonomic symptoms, and results of antibody screening between seropositive, seronegative achalasia, and CIPO groups. In the first study, we identified 10 patients (8.1%) who presented with achalasia, or gastroparesis, or paralytic ileus. In the second study, we detected anti-gAChR Abs in 21.4% of the achalasia patients, and in 50.0% of the CIPO patients. Although patients with achalasia and CIPO demonstrated widespread autonomic dysfunction, bladder dysfunction was observed in the seropositive patients with CIPO as a prominent clinical characteristic of dysautonomia. These results demonstrate a significant prevalence of anti-gAChR antibodies in patients with achalasia and CIPO. Anti-gAChR Abs might mediate autonomic dysfunction, contributing to autoimmune mechanisms underlying these GI motility disorders.

Published
2018

39. [The interface between the immune system and autonomic nervous system]

Author

Shunya Nakane, Yukio Ando, and Akihiro Mukaino

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Nervous system, Sympathetic nervous system, Neuroimmunomodulation, Immunology, Inflammatory reflex, Autoimmunity, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Autonomic Nervous System, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Immune system, medicine, Immunology and Allergy, Animals, Humans, Receptors, Cholinergic, Ganglia, Autonomic, Autoantibodies, Inflammation, business.industry, General Medicine, medicine.disease, Autonomic nervous system, 030104 developmental biology, medicine.anatomical_structure, Nicotinic agonist, Immune System, Reflex, Cytokines, business, Neuroscience, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

The nervous system and the immune system are two major systems in human body. Although it was revealed these two systems correlated, the control of immune cell dynamics by the nervous system has come to draw a lot of attention at the present time. Recent advances in basic and preclinical science reveal that reflex neural circuits inhibit the production of cytokines and inflammation in several animal models. One well-characterized cytokine-inhibiting mechanism, termed the "inflammatory reflex", is dependent upon vagus nerve stimulation that inhibits cytokine production and attenuates the inflammation. And the mechanism for controlling lymphocyte trafficking becomes clear, and molecular basis of immune regulation by the nervous system was reported. On the other hand, the nervous system is protected from the invasion of harmful agents by the barrier. However, there are neuroimmunological disorders, which is associated with autoimmunity, tumor immunity, and infection immunity. Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an acquired immune-mediated disorder that leads to widespread autonomic manifestations, in which autoantibodies to ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors play a central role. Previously, we elucidated the prevalence of extra-autonomic manifestations in patients with AAG. It is necessary to establish the new systems for the detection of autoantibodies to other subunits of acetylcholine receptor.

Published
2017

40. Novel anti-suprabasin antibodies may contribute to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus

Author

Tomohiro Koga, Mami Tamai, Hideki Nakajima, Toshimasa Shimizu, Katsuya Satoh, Shin-ya Kawashiri, Kunihiro Ichinose, Akihiro Mukaino, Kaname Ohyama, Naoki Iwamoto, Naotaka Kuroda, Mari Yoshida, Ayako Nishino, Osamu Higuchi, Shunya Nakane, Hideki Nakamura, Shoichi Fukui, Masataka Umeda, Tomoki Origuchi, Kaori Furukawa, and Atsushi Kawakami

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Adult, Male, Proteomics, Immunology, Antigen-Antibody Complex, Autoantigens, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Differential, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Cerebrospinal fluid, Immune system, Antigen, medicine, Autophagy, Immunology and Allergy, Humans, Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic, skin and connective tissue diseases, Cells, Cultured, Cellular Senescence, Autoantibodies, 030203 arthritis & rheumatology, biology, business.industry, Multiple sclerosis, Lupus Vasculitis, Central Nervous System, Autoantibody, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, Antigens, Differentiation, Neoplasm Proteins, 030104 developmental biology, Astrocytes, biology.protein, Female, Antibody, business, Anti-SSA/Ro autoantibodies, Signal Transduction
Abstract

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is often difficult to diagnose and distinguish from other diseases, because no NPSLE-specific antibodies have been identified. We developed a novel proteomic strategy for identifying and profiling antigens in immune complexes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and applied this strategy to 26 NPSLE patients. As controls, we also included 25 SLE patients without neuropsychiatric manifestations (SLE), 15 with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and 10 with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). We identified immune complexes of suprabasin (SBSN) in the CSF of the NPSLE group. The titer of anti-SBSN antibodies was significantly higher in the CSF of the NPSLE group compared to those of the SLE, MS and NPH groups. Microarray data showed that the senescence and autophagy pathways were significantly changed in astrocytes exposed to anti-SBSN antibodies. Our findings indicate that SBSN could be a novel autoantibody for the evaluation of suspected NPSLE.

Published
2017

41. A case of an anti-SRP myopathy with enlargement of the thymus

Author

Mitsuhiro Tsujihata, Rie Ohta, Ikuo Kinoshita, Shigeaki Suzuki, and Akihiro Mukaino

Subjects
Weakness, Pathology, medicine.medical_specialty, Muscular Diseases, Humans, Medicine, Regenerating fibers, Myopathy, Autoantibodies, Muscle biopsy, medicine.diagnostic_test, biology, business.industry, Immunoglobulins, Intravenous, Muscle weakness, Raynaud Disease, Middle Aged, Tacrolimus, Treatment Outcome, Prednisolone, biology.protein, Female, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, Antibody, business, Signal Recognition Particle, medicine.drug
Abstract

A 54-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of the Raynaud phenomenon and muscle weakness of the upper limbs. The neurological findings showed somatic and proximal limb weakness. Laboratory studies showed a high serum creatine kinase level. Computerized tomography (CT) revealed enlargement of the thymus. A muscle biopsy showed a small number of degenerating and regenerating fibers but no inflammatory infiltrations. At first, she was initially treated with a three-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone (1 g/day). However, the weakness progressed and the serum creatine kinase level remained high. She was subsequently treated with a combination of tacrolimus (3 mg/day) and prednisolone, but showed no any improvement of the muscle weakness. Following additional treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, she showed improvement in her muscle weakness. Further, anti-signal recognition particle antibodies were identified after treatment. There have been no previous reports of myopathy with antibodies against the signal recognition particle and enlargement of the thymus, so we herein report the details of this unique case.

Published
2014

42. A case of herpes simplex encephalitis with hypersomnia and low orexin level in the cerebrospinal fluid

Author

Mayumi Otsubo, Takashi Kanbayashi, Ikuo Kinoshita, Akihiro Mukaino, and Naomi Fukushima

Subjects
Male, Pathology, medicine.medical_specialty, Acyclovir, Disorders of Excessive Somnolence, Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, Antibodies, Viral, Antiviral Agents, Methylprednisolone, Temporal lobe, Cerebrospinal fluid, medicine, Humans, Simplexvirus, Pleocytosis, Orexins, business.industry, Stupor, Neuropeptides, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Orexin, Treatment Outcome, Immunoglobulin M, Pulse Therapy, Drug, Cerebellar vermis, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex, Neurology (clinical), medicine.symptom, business, Biomarkers, Encephalitis
Abstract

A 60-year-old woman suffered from high fever (38°C) and abnormal behavior, was admitted to our hospital on the seventh day of the fever. At admission, she was stuporous, and a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed pleocytosis (55/μl, monocytes). Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance (MR) images showed high-intensity signals in the medial temporal lobe, inferior surface of the frontal cortex, right cerebellar vermis, and left thalamus. We diagnosed herpes simplex encephalitis, based on the finding of an elevated titer of herpes simplex virus antibody in the CSF (2.90). She was started on treatment with acyclovir and steroid pulse therapy, which was followed by rapid clinical improvement. After recovering from the stupor, the patient exhibited the symptoms of hypersomnia with low orexin level in the CSF. Thus, we should bear in mind that other than consciousness disturbance, patients with herpes simplex encephalitis can also present with rare complications due to the extent of the lesions.

Published
2014

43. A case of meningeal disseminated sarcoidosis with marked hypoglycorrhachia in the CSF

Author

Tomayoshi Hayashi, Masakatsu Motomura, Akihiro Mukaino, Ikuo Kinoshita, Takayuki Matsuo, Misachi Asai, Ruka Nakata, and Fumi Toriyama

Subjects
Adult, Male, medicine.medical_specialty, Sarcoidosis, medicine.diagnostic_test, business.industry, medicine.medical_treatment, Carbohydrates, Thyroidectomy, medicine.disease, Dermatology, High fever, Meninges, Cerebrospinal fluid, Hypoglycorrhachia, Biopsy, medicine, Prednisolone, Humans, Neurology (clinical), Pleocytosis, business, Cerebrospinal Fluid, medicine.drug
Abstract

A 29-year-old man diagnosed as having pulmonary sarcoidosis in 2008, and hypothyroidism secondary to thyroidectomy for Basedow's disease was admitted to our hospital with pustular psoriasis in November 2010. He experienced high fever (38°C) and headache in late October 2010. Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted image showed multiple micronodular lesions with leptomeningeal enhancement, mainly in the brainstem. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed pleocytosis, raised protein level and hypoglycorrhachia (7 mg/dl). The patient was also found to have osteonecrosis of the left femoral head. Antituberculous treatment and steroid pulse therapy were started, but produced no improvement of either the symptoms or the laboratory data. Finally, the patient was diagnosed as having meningeal disseminated sarcoidosis by meningeal biopsy in late March 2011. He was started on treatment with 60 mg prednisolone per day, which resulted in marked clinical improvement. It should be borne in mind that marked hypoglycorrhachia in the CSF can also be seen in meningeal disseminated sarcoidosis.

Published
2013

44. Clinical Features of Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy and the Detection of Subunit-Specific Autoantibodies to the Ganglionic Acetylcholine Receptor in Japanese Patients

Author

Hidenori Matsuo, Osamu Higuchi, Akihiro Mukaino, Takashi Suzuki, Takashi Kanda, Waka Sakai, K. Kaida, Hiroko Kurono, Ken-ya Murata, Masanari Kunimoto, Michiaki Koga, Yasuhiro Maeda, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
Adult, Male, Radioimmunoprecipitation Assay, Adolescent, Science, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Receptors, Nicotinic, Serology, Orthostatic vital signs, Hypotension, Orthostatic, Young Adult, Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System, Channelopathy, medicine, polycyclic compounds, Humans, Child, Ganglia, Autonomic, Aged, Autoantibodies, Aged, 80 and over, Multidisciplinary, biology, business.industry, Autoantibody, Middle Aged, medicine.disease, female genital diseases and pregnancy complications, Nicotinic agonist, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases, Immunology, biology.protein, Medicine, Female, Antibody, Complication, business, Research Article
Abstract

Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is a rare acquired channelopathy that is characterized by pandysautonomia, in which autoantibodies to ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (gAChR) may play a central role. Radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) assays have been used for the sensitive detection of autoantibodies to gAChR in the serum of patients with AAG. Here, we developed luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) to diagnose AAG based on IgGs to both the α3 and β4 gAChR subunits in patient serum. We reviewed the serological and clinical data of 50 Japanese patients who were diagnosed with AAG. With the LIPS testing, we detected anti-α3 and -β4 gAChR antibodies in 48% (24/50) of the patients. A gradual mode of onset was more common in the seropositive group than in the seronegative group. Patients with AAG frequently have orthostatic hypotension and upper and lower gastrointestinal tract symptoms, with or without anti-gAChR. The occurrence of autonomic symptoms was not significantly different between the seropositive and seronegative group, with the exception of achalasia in three patients from the seropositive group. In addition, we found a significant overrepresentation of autoimmune diseases in the seropositive group and endocrinological abnormalities as an occasional complication of AAG. Our results demonstrated that the LIPS assay was a useful novel tool for detecting autoantibodies against gAChR in patients with AAG., PLOS ONE, 10(3), e0118312; 2015

Published
2015

45. Insights from the ganglionic acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Shunya Nakane, Osamu Higuchi, Hideki Nakamura, Tomo Miyagi, Kanako Shiroma, Takashi Tokashiki, Yasuhiro Fuseya, Kazuhide Ochi, Masataka Umeda, Tetsuya Nakazato, Shinji Akioka, Hiroyuki Maruoka, Masatoshi Hayashi, Shu-ichi Igarashi, Katsunori Yokoi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Waka Sakai, Hidenori Matsuo, Atsushi Kawakami, Akihiro Mukaino, Shunya Nakane, Osamu Higuchi, Hideki Nakamura, Tomo Miyagi, Kanako Shiroma, Takashi Tokashiki, Yasuhiro Fuseya, Kazuhide Ochi, Masataka Umeda, Tetsuya Nakazato, Shinji Akioka, Hiroyuki Maruoka, Masatoshi Hayashi, Shu-ichi Igarashi, Katsunori Yokoi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Waka Sakai, Hidenori Matsuo, and Atsushi Kawakami

Abstract

Objective: It is not known whether autonomic neuropathy is a feature of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) or whether it is related to circulating antiganglionic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR) antibodies. The goal of the present study was to investigate the autonomic dysfunction in patients with SS and the associations between autonomic dysfunction, anti-gAChR antibodies, and clinical features of SS. Methods: (1) The first observational study tested for the presence of gAChR antibodies in the serum samples from 39 patients with SS (absent information regarding autonomic symptoms) and healthy volunteers. (2) In the second study, serological and clinical data from 10 Japanese patients diagnosed with SS were reviewed. These patients showed autonomic dysfunction, and luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) test was conducted to detect anti-α3 and anti-β4 gAChR antibodies. (3) In the final analysis, we combined the data of seropositive SS patients with autonomic symptom from the first study with all of the patients from the second study, and analyzed the clinical features. Results: (1) The LIPS assay revealed that anti-gAChRα3 and anti-gAChRβ4 antibodies were detected in the sera from patients with SS (23.1%, 9/39). Five of nine SS patients had autonomic symptoms. (2) Anti-α3 and anti-β4 gAChR antibodies were also detected in 80.0% (8/10) of patients with SS with autonomic symptoms. Six of the ten patients were diagnosed as having SS after neurological symptoms developed. These seropositive patients had predominant and severe autonomic symptoms and were diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy. (3) Thirteen of fifteen SS patients with autonomic symptoms (86.7%) were seropositive for anti-gAChR antibodies, and we confirmed sicca complex, orthostatic hypotension, upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and bladder dysfunction at high rates. Conclusion: The present results suggest the possibility of anti-gAChR antibodies aid

Published
2016
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46. Extra-autonomic manifestations in autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy: a Japanese survey

Author

Shunya Nakane, Yukio Ando, Yasuhiro Maeda, Osamu Higuchi, Akihiro Mukaino, and Hidenori Matsuo

Subjects
Male, 0301 basic medicine, Autonomic manifestations, medicine.medical_specialty, Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Autoimmune Diseases, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Japan, Informed consent, Internal medicine, polycyclic compounds, Humans, Medicine, Receptors, Cholinergic, Pure autonomic failure, Ganglia, Autonomic, Autoantibodies, business.industry, Autoantibody, Ethics committee, Middle Aged, Serum samples, medicine.disease, Psychiatry and Mental health, 030104 developmental biology, Immunology, Population study, Female, Surgery, Neurology (clinical), business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG) is an acquired immune-mediated disorder that leads to autonomic failure. The disorder is associated with autoantibodies (Abs) to the ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (gAChR).1 Previously, we developed a luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) protocol to aid in the diagnosis of AAG based on serum levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the α3 and β4 gAChR subunits.2 We subsequently observed that AAG is associated with an overrepresentation of autoimmune diseases and endocrine disorders.2 Furthermore, Hayashi et al 3 reviewed 29 Japanese case reports of AAG and pandysautonomia and observed that Japanese patients with AAG tended to exhibit additional coughing episodes/psychiatric symptoms when compared to patients in Western countries. Gibbons et al 4 reported some patients with AAG demonstrated reversible cognitive impairment. The present study aims to elucidate the prevalence of extra-autonomic manifestations including psychiatric symptoms in 80 Japanese patients with AAG who were seropositive for anti-gAChR Abs. ### Ethical approval All participants provided written, informed consent to participate in the study. The Ethics Committee of Nagasaki Kawatana Medical Center approved this study. ### Study population Serum samples from 946 patients with autonomic symptoms were obtained from general and teaching hospitals throughout Japan between January 2012 and April 2016 (mean age: 51±22 years; 488 men and 458 women). Clinical diagnoses were …

Published
2016

47. Clinical features of ganglionic acetylcholine receptor β4 subunit seropositive autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy and utility of 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy

Author

Teruaki Masuda, Yasushi Maeda, Takayuki Kosaka, Akihiro Mukaino, Hidenori Matsuo, Osamu Higuchi, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, and Shunya Nakane

Subjects
Pathology, medicine.medical_specialty, Neurology, business.industry, 123i mibg, Myocardial scintigraphy, Medicine, β4 subunit, Neurology (clinical), Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, business, medicine.disease, Acetylcholine receptor
Published
2017

48. Autoimmune basis in postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome

Author

Hidenori Matsuo, Shunya Nakane, Y. Kouzaki, Akihiro Mukaino, Teruaki Masuda, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Osamu Higuchi, Mari Watari, Y. Mori, and Makoto Nakajima

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, Neurology, business.industry, Internal medicine, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, medicine, Cardiology, Neurology (clinical), business
Published
2017

49. Ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibodies in autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy: Characteristics, clinical features and outcomes

Author

Akihiro Mukaino, Hidenori Matsuo, Takayuki Kosaka, Koutaro Takamatsu, Yukio Ando, Osamu Higuchi, Shunya Nakane, Mari Watari, and Yasushi Maeda

Subjects
Neurology, biology, business.industry, Immunology, medicine, biology.protein, Neurology (clinical), Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, Antibody, medicine.disease, business, Acetylcholine receptor
Published
2017

50. [Increased rate of serum uric acid levels in Yusho sufferers]

Author

Toshiro, Yoshimura, Ryoko, Kawasaki, Shunsuke, Yoshimura, Teiichiro, Miyazaki, Akihiro, Mukaino, and Takehito, Yonezawa

Subjects
Male, Porphyrias, Humans, Female, Aged, Uric Acid
Abstract

We measured serum uric acid levels in Yusho sufferers annually from 2007 to 2012 in Nagasaki prefecture. We observed an increased rate of serum uric acid levels in 38.2% of the male and 5.5% of the female sufferers. There was no relation among serum uric acid value, Body Mass Index, liver function, blood polychlorinated biphenyls and hypersensitive C reactive protein. We conclude that it is unclear if blood polychlorinated biphenyls may play a role in the increase of serum uric acid levels in Yusho sufferers.

Published
2013

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