RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Carcinoid myopathy
JF Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
JO Cleve Clin J Med
FD Cleveland Clinic
SP 299
OP 303
VO 54
IS 4
A1 Lederman, Richard J.
A1 Bukowski, Ronald M.
A1 Nickerson, Paul
YR 1987
UL http://www.ccjm.org/content/54/4/299.abstract
AB Myopathy with malignant carcinoid syndrome appears to be rare. A 52-year-old woman with a 9-year history of carcinoid symptoms and biopsy-proven metastatic carcinoid of the liver is reported. After 6 months of chemotherapy, proximal weakness and atrophy with electromyographic and histological evidence of myopa-thy developed. Urinary 5-HIAA and plasma serotonin levels were markedly elevated. Charts of 44 patients with malignant carcinoid tumors were reviewed; six of these had symptoms of neuromuscular disease but only one had objective weakness. Five of six had moderate to marked elevation of blood serotonin; the sixth had no assay. Only one other patient had high serotonin levels but had no weakness. The findings support a pathogenetic role for circulating serotonin in this unusual myopathy, although the mechanism remains uncertain.