Plasma-Cell Dyscrasia and Peripheral Neuropathy with a Monoclonal Antibody to Peripheral-Nerve Myelin

Abstract

PERIPHERAL neuropathy has been associated with plasma-cell dyscrasia, 1 but it is not known whether the monoclonal immunoglobulins react with peripheral-nerve antigens. We report on a patient with a peripheral neuropathy associated with an IgMk monoclonal protein, in whom pathological and immunological studies indicated that the IgMk antibody was directed against peripheral-nerve myelin, as shown by complement fixation and immunoabsorption.Case ReportThe patient was a 45-year-old man admitted for evaluation of a slowly progressive sensory-motor neuropathy of 11 years' duration. On examination there was moderate to severe weakness and atrophy of the muscles of the hands and distal parts of . . .