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ARTICLE |

Neuromuscular Disease and the Chest FREE

Noah I. Lightman, MD; Lloyd Shield, FRACP; Stanley S. Siegelman, MD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 601 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205 (Dr Lightman).

Edited by Z. Danilevicius, MD, Senior Editor.


JAMA. 1977;238(24):2638-2640. doi:10.1001/jama.1977.03280250064030
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SOME adults with complaints of weakness and fatigue have an underlying specific neuromuscular disease. In these patients the neuromuscular symptoms may be associated with potentially more serious nonneuromuscular abnormalities. The chest roentgenogram may provide a clue to the diagnosis of a systemic disorder responsible for muscular weakness.

Carcinomatous Neuromyopathy  The most serious illness causing weakness is malignant neoplasm. The chest is a frequent site of metastases and often signals widespread disease. Primary lung cancer may be associated with a neuromuscular syndrome that is not indicative of widespread disease and that occasionally may be alleviated by resection of the pulmonary lesion. The combination of a primary malignant neoplasm and neuromuscular disease is called carcinomatous neuromyopathy. In 1963 Croft and Wilkinson1 studied 250 men with proved lung cancer and found a 16% incidence of neuromyopathy. This compared with a 1% to 2% incidence of neuromuscular symptoms in a control group. The

REFERENCES

Croft PB, Wilkinson M:  Carcinomatous neuromyopathy: Its incidence in patients with carcinoma of the lung and carcinoma of the breast . Lancet 1:184-188, 1963;.
Oh SJ:  The Eaton-Lambert syndrome: Report of a case . Arch Neurol 27:91-94, 1972;.
Kennedy WR, Jimenez-Pabon E:  The myasthenic syndrome asociated with small cell carcinoma of the lung (Eaton-Lambert syndrome) . Neurology 18:757-766, 1968;.
Blalock A, Mason MF, Morgan HJ, et al:  Myasthenia gravis and tumors of the thymic region: Report of a case in which tumor was removed . Ann Surg 110:544-561, 1939;.
Drachman DB, Kao I, Pestronk A, et al:  Myasthenia gravis as a receptor disorder . Ann NY Acad Sci 274:226-234, 1976;.
Castleman B:  The pathology of the thymus gland in myasthenia gravis . Ann NY Acad Sci 135:496-505, 1966;.
Souadjian JV, Enriquez P, Silverstein MN, et al:  The spectrum of diseases associated with thymoma . Arch Intern Med 134:374-378, 1974;.
Ellis K, Gregg HG:  Thymomas-roentgen considerations . Am J Roentgenol 91:105-119, 1964;.
Swick HM, Preston DF, McQuillen MP:  Gallium scans in myasthenia gravis . Ann NY Acad Sci 274:536-554, 1976;.
Williams RC:  Dermatomyositis and malignancy: A review of the literature . Ann Intern Med 50:1174-1181, 1959;.
Olsen GN, Swenson EW:  Polymyositis and interstitial lung disease . Am Rev Respir Dis 105:611-617, 1972;.
Lightman NI, Schooley RT:  Adult onset acid maltase deficiency: Case report of an adult with severe respiratory difficulty . Chest 72:250-252, 1977;.
Gardner JC:  Muscle weakness due to sarcoid myopathy: Case reports and an evaluation of steroid therapy . Neurology 22:917-928, 1972;.
Davis LE, Drachman DB:  Myeloma neuropathy . Arch Neurol 27:507-511, 1972;.
Carey VCI:  The incidence of hypercalcemia in association with bronchogenic carcinoma . Am Rev Respir Dis 93:584-586, 1966;.

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Croft PB, Wilkinson M:  Carcinomatous neuromyopathy: Its incidence in patients with carcinoma of the lung and carcinoma of the breast . Lancet 1:184-188, 1963;.
Oh SJ:  The Eaton-Lambert syndrome: Report of a case . Arch Neurol 27:91-94, 1972;.
Kennedy WR, Jimenez-Pabon E:  The myasthenic syndrome asociated with small cell carcinoma of the lung (Eaton-Lambert syndrome) . Neurology 18:757-766, 1968;.
Blalock A, Mason MF, Morgan HJ, et al:  Myasthenia gravis and tumors of the thymic region: Report of a case in which tumor was removed . Ann Surg 110:544-561, 1939;.
Drachman DB, Kao I, Pestronk A, et al:  Myasthenia gravis as a receptor disorder . Ann NY Acad Sci 274:226-234, 1976;.
Castleman B:  The pathology of the thymus gland in myasthenia gravis . Ann NY Acad Sci 135:496-505, 1966;.
Souadjian JV, Enriquez P, Silverstein MN, et al:  The spectrum of diseases associated with thymoma . Arch Intern Med 134:374-378, 1974;.
Ellis K, Gregg HG:  Thymomas-roentgen considerations . Am J Roentgenol 91:105-119, 1964;.
Swick HM, Preston DF, McQuillen MP:  Gallium scans in myasthenia gravis . Ann NY Acad Sci 274:536-554, 1976;.
Williams RC:  Dermatomyositis and malignancy: A review of the literature . Ann Intern Med 50:1174-1181, 1959;.
Olsen GN, Swenson EW:  Polymyositis and interstitial lung disease . Am Rev Respir Dis 105:611-617, 1972;.
Lightman NI, Schooley RT:  Adult onset acid maltase deficiency: Case report of an adult with severe respiratory difficulty . Chest 72:250-252, 1977;.
Gardner JC:  Muscle weakness due to sarcoid myopathy: Case reports and an evaluation of steroid therapy . Neurology 22:917-928, 1972;.
Davis LE, Drachman DB:  Myeloma neuropathy . Arch Neurol 27:507-511, 1972;.
Carey VCI:  The incidence of hypercalcemia in association with bronchogenic carcinoma . Am Rev Respir Dis 93:584-586, 1966;.
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