Abstract
This case report is about the novel use of the anti-CD20 antibody, rituximab, in the treatment of a 41 year old woman with stiff person syndrome. She was admitted to hospital as an emergency with prolonged and painful extensor spasms affecting the neck and back, arms, and legs. The disease had progressed despite a favourable initial response to conventional treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and cytotoxics. Treatment with rituximab induced a lasting clinical remission.
MeSH terms
-
Adult
-
Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use*
-
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
-
Antigens, CD20 / immunology
-
Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
-
Autoantibodies / cerebrospinal fluid
-
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
-
Drug Administration Schedule
-
Drug Therapy, Combination
-
Electromyography / drug effects
-
Evoked Potentials, Motor / drug effects
-
Female
-
Follow-Up Studies
-
Glutamate Decarboxylase / immunology
-
Humans
-
Immunization, Passive
-
Immunologic Factors / therapeutic use*
-
Infusions, Intravenous
-
Mycophenolic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
-
Mycophenolic Acid / therapeutic use
-
Parasympatholytics / therapeutic use
-
Recurrence
-
Rituximab
-
Spasm / diagnosis
-
Spasm / drug therapy
-
Stiff-Person Syndrome / diagnosis
-
Stiff-Person Syndrome / drug therapy*
-
Stiff-Person Syndrome / immunology
-
Treatment Outcome
Substances
-
Antibodies, Monoclonal
-
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
-
Antigens, CD20
-
Antineoplastic Agents
-
Autoantibodies
-
Immunologic Factors
-
Parasympatholytics
-
Rituximab
-
Glutamate Decarboxylase
-
Mycophenolic Acid