Myotonic Dystrophy and Thymoma: a Necropsy Case Report

Myotonic Dystrophy and Thymoma: a Necropsy Case Report

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.44.2.173 on 1 February 1981. Downloaded from Journal oJ Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 1981, 44, 173-175 Short report Myotonic dystrophy and thymoma: A necropsy case report YOSHIYUKI KUROIWA,* AKIRA YAMADA,* KENJI IKEBE,* KINORI KOSAKA, * HIDEO SUGITAt AND TOSHIKAZU MURAKAMIt From the Third Department of Internal Medicine,* Department of Neurology, Institute of Brain Researcht and Department of Pathology,J University of Tokyo, Japan S U M MARY This report describes a 46 year old woman having both thymoma and myotonic dystrophy. Laboratory studies revealed an anterior mediastinal mass, lymphocytopenia, anergic reaction to dinitrochlorobenzene and electrophysiological evidence of myotonia. Postmortem examination disclosed a thymoma with predominant proliferation of epithelial cells. This paper is the second necropsy report of myotonic dystrophy associated with thymoma. Protected by copyright. Many diseases are associated with thymoma, in- over the left lung field, with dullness to percussion cluding myasthenia gravis, cytopenias, cancer, over the same area. On neurological examination she hypogammaglobulinaemia, polymyositis and had a myopathic facies with slight ptosis of the eye- lids. She had myotonia of hand grip and percussion systemic lupus erythematosus.' Abnormalities of myotonia of the tongue and thenar eminence. The the thymus, including thymoma, have consistently extremities showed symmetrical muscular wasting and been found in myasthenia gravis. However, the weakness, with depressed deep tendon reflexes. association of thymoma with myopathies other Full blood count disclosed 4,580,000 red blood than myasthenia gravis is very rare. In this report cells/mm3 and 2400 white blood cells/mm3, with is described a patient having both thymoma and differential count of 44% segmented neutrophils, 20% myotonic dystrophy. non-segmented neutrophils, 9 % eosinophils, 1 % mono- cytes and 26% lymphocytes. Serum immunoglobulin Case report concentrations were as follows; IgG 885 mg/100 ml (normal, 1460+263 mg/100 ml), IgA 159 mg/100 ml A 46 year old Japanese housewife presented in Sep- (normal, 212+55 mg/100 ml) and IgM 130 mg/100 ml tember 1974, with the chief complaint of dyspnoea. (normal, 173+56 mg/100 ml). Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction to dinitrochlorobenzene She had noticed difficulty relaxing her grasp from http://jnnp.bmj.com/ childhood and developed a tendency to fall at the age (DNCB) was anergic. The glucose tolerance test of 20 years. She had had one normal delivery, one showed a diabetic pattern. The urinary excretion of miscarriage and two stillbirths. Her elder sister and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids and 17- ketosteroids showed younger sister had been diagnosed as having myotonic low values. Studies with 1131 showed thyroidal uptake dystrophy. Her father and paternal grandmother died of 7-5 % during 24 hours (normal, 10-35%). Pulmonary of oesophageal cancer. Two cousins were mentally function tests revealed significant reduction in the defective. vital capacity and maximum breathing capacity. Chest On physical examination, temperature was 36-2°C, roentgenogram revealed an antero-mediastinal mass pulse rate 106 per minute, respiratory rate 32 per with a left pleural effusion (figure). Follow-up films on October 2, 2021 by guest. minute and blood pressure 112/94 mmHg. The respir- demonstrated gradual enlargement of the tumor. A ation was laboured and the breath sounds werc absent left-sided thoracentesis yielded yellowish fluid having a specific gravity of 1-032. Total protein of the fluid was 3-7 g/100 ml and cytologic findings were sug- An Address for reprint requests: Dr Yoshiyuki Kuroiwa, First Department gestive of malignancy. electrocardiogram was nor- ofInternal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School ofMedicine, 3600 mal. Electromyographic examination showed typical Handa-Cho, Hamamatsu 431-31 Japan. myotonic discharges. An edrophonium test was Accepted 22 October 1980 negative. 173 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.44.2.173 on 1 February 1981. Downloaded from 174 Yoshiyuki Kuroiwa et al ..,............a..l;'- *:._-:::: _c . s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FiueO h lf hs r-ngnga swin a mdatnl.tumou an et lua effsio. Mcocpcapaneofthi;uoronpsmre eaInto is shwn on the........... righ....'t.,.-.......... Protected by copyright. In January of 1975 she had a sudden cardiac arrest necropsy case of thymoma with myotonic and died. Postmortem examination disclosed remark- dystrophy was encountered in our review of the able atrophy of skeletal muscles which histologically literature. That patient was a 51 year-old Japanese showed lateral sarcoplasmic masses and central dis- placement of sarcolemmic nuclei. In the anterior man with a thymoma, myotonic dystrophy and a mediastinum there was a firm and partly necrotic mass mixed tumour of the parotid gland.3 Warembourg4 (figure). It was a relatively well-encapsulated tumor reported a 66 year-old woman with an anterior subdivided by fibrous trabeculae. Microscopically it mediastinal mass and "myotonic synidrome." was a thymoma of mixed type with predominant pro- However the histologic nature of this tumour was liferation of epithelial cells, perivascular hyalinosis not investigated. and metastasis to the regional lymphnodes. The spleen We recently described a high incidence of im- showed mild hyperaemia and lymphoid depletion. An paired reactivity to dinitrochlorobenzene in adenoma of thyroid and a congenital hypoplasia of the myotonic dystrophy. 5 As a high incidence of anergy http://jnnp.bmj.com/ left kidney also were noted. to dinitrochlorobenzene also has been found in Discussion malignancy,6 there are three possible explanations of anergy to dinitrochlorobenzene in our case; it Myotonic dystrophy is a multisystemic disease could have been due to the myotonic dystrophy, inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The to the thymoma or to both. The available data, clinical picture presented in this report was however, do not provide a definite conclusion. typical of this disease and our case shows a very Lymphocytopenia in our case was probably due rare combination of thymoma and myotonic to the thymoma. This case demonstrates a unique on October 2, 2021 by guest. dystrophy. A national survey of mediastinal association of myotonic dystrophy and thymoma, neoplasms in Japan between 1970 and 1974 dis- although it is possible that this association may closed 417 cases of thymoma.2 The number of be coincidental. thymomas associated with myasthenia gravis was 95 (22-8%). However, the association of thymoma References and myotonic dystrophy does not parallel that of 1 Souadjian JV, Enriquez P, Silverstein MN, P6pin thymoma and myasthenia gravis. Only one JM. The spectrum of diseases associated with J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.44.2.173 on 1 February 1981. Downloaded from Myotonic dystrophy and thymoma: a necropsy case report 175 thymoma. Coincidence or syndrome? Arch Int R, Spy E. Tumeur thymique et syndrome myo- Med 1974; 134:374-9. tonique. A propos d'un cas. Lille Med 1964; 9: 2 Teramatsu T, Yamamoto H, Matsutani K. 35-8. National statistics on mediastinal neoplasms. 2. 5 Kuroiwa Y, Sugita H, Toyokura Y, Mizoguchi National statistics on the clinical characteristics M, Matsuo H, Nonaka Y. Immunologic derange- of thymoma. J Japan Assoc Thoracic Surg 1976; ment in myotonic dystrophy. Abnormal contact 24:70-3. sensitization to dinitrochlorobenzene. J Neurolog 3 Goto I, Ichimaru K, Maruyama T, Yamaguchi Sci 1980; 47:231-9. T. An autopsy case of myotonic dystrophy with 6 Catalona WJ, Chretien PB. Abnormalities of familial diabetes mellitus, a mixed tumor of the quantitative dinitrochlorobenzene sensitization parotid gland and a thymoma. Fukuoka A cta in cancer patients. Correlation with tumor stage Med 1969; 60:126-133. and histology. Cancer 1973; 31:353-6. 4 Warembourg H, Niquet G, Ducloux G, Lucaes Protected by copyright. http://jnnp.bmj.com/ on October 2, 2021 by guest..

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