Transient Methimazole-induced Bone Marrow Aplasia: in vitro Evidence for a Humoral Mechanism of Bone Marrow Suppression

A patient with methimazole-induced aplastic anemia is described. Despite severe pancytopenia and the complete disappearance of hemopoietic elements from the bone marrow, recovery of hemopoiesis has been observed within 14 days of discontinuing methimazole therapy. In vitro studies of CFU-C inhibition of peripheral mononuclear cells harvested in remission, were performed by incubation with autologous sera collected at earlier phases of the disease. These studies provide evidence in favor of a humoral, and most probably autoimmune mechanism as the cause of transient bone marrow aplasia.