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J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1995;58:85-87 doi:10.1136/jnnp.58.1.85
  • Research Article

An improved diagnostic assay for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.

  1. M Motomura,
  2. I Johnston,
  3. B Lang,
  4. A Vincent,
  5. J Newsom-Davis
  1. Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.

      Abstract

      A new immunoprecipitation assay has been established for detecting antibodies to voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), using 125I-omega-conotoxin MVIIC, which binds to P-type VGCCs, to label extracts of human cerebellum. Fifty six of 66 serum samples (85%) from patients with clinically and electrophysiologically definite LEMS were positive for the presence of VGCC antibodies, defined as a titre > 3 SD above the mean for the healthy controls (n = 10). All disease controls (n = 40) were negative. This sensitive immunoassay should prove valuable in the diagnosis of LEMS.

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