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Published online before print October 25, 2006, doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000247741.72466.8c)
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NEUROLOGY 2006;67:2256-2258
© 2006 American Academy of Neurology
Brief Communications

Myasthenia gravis exacerbation or unmasking associated with telithromycin treatment

X. Perrot, MD, N. Bernard, PharmD, C. Vial, MD, J. C. Antoine, MD, PhD, H. Laurent, MD, T. Vial, MD, C. Confavreux, MD, PhD and S. Vukusic, MD, PhD

From the Department of Neurology A (X.P., C.C., S.V.) and Department of Electromyography and Muscular Disorders (C.V.), Hôpital Neurologique, and Regional Pharmacovigilance Center (N.B., T.V.), Hospices Civils de Lyon; Department of Neurology (J.C.A.), Hôpital de Bellevue, Saint-Étienne; and Department of Internal Medicine (H.L.), Centre Hospitalier du Pays de Gier, Saint-Chamond, France.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Xavier Perrot, Service d’audiologie et explorations orofaciales—Pavillon 3A, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, 165 Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495 Pierre-Bénite Cedex, France; e-mail:xavier.perrot{at}chu-lyon.fr

Telithromycin, a new ketolide antibiotic, has been implicated in the exacerbation or unmasking of myasthenia gravis. This retrospective study presents two clinical reports and summarizes eight other suspected cases notified to the French pharmacovigilance system, highlighting a potentially life-threatening risk of telithromycin treatment in myasthenic patients. An important common feature was that, in seven cases, symptomatology occurred within 2 hours of first telithromycin intake—notably in cases of severe exacerbation.

Additional material related to this article can be found on the Neurology Web site. Go to www.neurology.org and scroll down the Table of Contents for the December 26 issue to find the title link for this article.

This article was previously published in electronic format as an Expedited E-Pub on October 25, 2006, at www.neurology.org

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received April 24, 2006. Accepted in final form September 5, 2006.