Introduction The Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is an autoimmune disease. It is characterised by muscle weakness of the proximal lower limbs as a result of auto-antibodies produced against the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC) found on the presynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction(1). Most of the time, LEMS is classified as a paraneoplastic syndrome as it is often associated with cancer (small cell lung cancer in particular) (2, 3). One of the earliest descriptions of this disease was reported by Anderson and his colleagues in the year 1953, describing a 47-year-old patient with bronchial carcinoma presenting with progressive muscle weakness(4). Upon examining this patient, Anderson wrote: His (the patient 's) muscle power …show more content…
Weiss N, Koschak A. Pathologies of Calcium Channels. Weiss N, Koschak A, editors: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer; 2014. 2. Takamori M. An autoimmune channelopathy associated with cancer: Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Intern Med. 1999;38(2):86-96. 3. Lennon VA, Kryzer TJ, Griesmann GE, O 'Suilleabhain PE, Windebank AJ, Woppmann A, et al. Calcium-Channel Antibodies in the Lambert–Eaton Syndrome and Other Paraneoplastic Syndromes. New England Journal of Medicine. …show more content…
4. Anderson HJ, Churchill-Davidson HC, Richardson AT. BRONCHIAL NEOPLASM WITH MYASTHENIA. The Lancet. 1953;262(6799):1291-3. 5. Hulsbrink R, Hashemolhosseini S. Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome - diagnosis, pathogenesis and therapy. Clin Neurophysiol. 2014;125(12):2328-36. 6. Motomura M, Lang B, Johnston I, Palace J, Vincent A, Newsom-Davis J. Incidence of serum anti-P/Q-type and anti-N-type calcium channel autoantibodies in the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 1997;147(1):35-42. 7. Catterall WA. Voltage-gated calcium channels. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. 2011;3(8):a003947. 8. Structure and Regulation of Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology. 2000;16(1):521-55. 9. Hughes BW, Kusner LL, Kaminski HJ. Molecular architecture of the neuromuscular junction. Muscle & Nerve. 2006;33(4):445-61. 10. Martini F, Nath JL, Bartholomew EF. Fundamentals of anatomy & physiology. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings; 2012. 11. Motomura M, Johnston I, Lang B, Vincent A, Newsom-Davis J. An improved diagnostic assay for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.