Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LES)

NEWS

Amifampridine, CAS# 54-96-6 is the first and only approved drug thus far for the symptomatic treatment of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome in adults. As a rare autoimmune disease, Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome, also called LEMS, is typically caused by  auto antibodies  to voltage gated calcium channels, leading to a reduction in the amount of acetylcholine released from nerve terminals in patients. The predominant symptom of LEMS is muscle weakness, with this weakness usually concentrated in the proximal muscles of the legs and trunk. Additional, devastating symptoms of this rare disease include extreme fatigue, reduced reflexes, drooping of the eyelids, problems with swallowing,

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In November 2002, an international group of neurologists interested in the field of paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) established the PNS Euronetwork supported by a grant from the European Union. The aim is to assist neurologists in the diagnosis and classification of Paraneoplastic symptoms by providing rigorous diagnostic criteria for the different conditions, to interchange information among the different centres, and to facilitate the pooling of patients for clinical trials.   This site contains a section on LEMS under paraneoplastic syndromes of the neuromuscular junction and muscle www.pnseuronet.org