Learn more about Lambert Syndrome that causes muscle weakness and its link to lung cancer

LEMS is a very rare condition that affects the signals sent from the nerves to the muscles, resulting in muscle weakness and many other symptoms, including about half in elderly or infected people. Lung cancer and other cases are not cancer-related and can begin at any age, according to the British Health Services "NHS" website.

Symptoms of Lambert syndrome

The symptoms of Lambert's Syndrome develop gradually, over weeks or months, and consist mainly of weakness of the legs, arms, neck and face, as well as problems of automatic functions such as the control of the blood pressure.

Common symptoms include:

Muscle pain

Difficulty walking and climbing stairs

• Difficulty lifting objects or lifting weapons

• drooping eyelids, dry eyes and blurred vision

• swallowing problems

• Dizziness while standing

• dry mouth

• constipation

• Erectile dysfunction in men

Lambert syndrome is due to the natural defenses of the immune system that attack the nerves and damage them by mistake. As a rule, the signals go to the nerves and stimulate the nerve endings to release a substance called acetylcholine, which then helps to If the nerve endings are damaged, the amount of acetylcholine produced by them decreases, which means that the nerve signals do not reach the muscles properly.

It is not known what causes the immune system to attack the nerves, often associated with lung cancer, but this can happen in people who do not have cancer.

Diagnosis of Lambert syndrome in stages

Your doctor will first check your medical history, ask questions about your symptoms, undergo a physical exam, analyze your reactions and, if you think you have a nervous problem, he can refer you to a neurologist for further tests to determine the cause.

Medical tests may include:

Blood tests: A blood test can detect in the blood substances that are "antibodies" caused by the immune system when it attacks the nerves.

• Neuroscience: A needle can be inserted into the skin to check how far the signals reach the nerve muscles.

• Scanning: You can have a CT scan or a PET scan for lung cancer.

If the initial scan does not detect cancer, regular tests may be recommended every few months for a few years to avoid any risk of recurrence.

How to treat Lambert syndrome?

There is currently no treatment, with the exception of a treatment recently adopted by the FDA, which is not yet available, but several treatments may help reduce symptoms, including:

• Lung Cancer Treatment: If you have lung cancer, the treatment can dramatically improve symptoms of Lambert Syndrome.

• A medicine to help nerve signals reach the muscles.

• Drugs intended to reduce the activity of the immune system through immunosuppressants.

• Immunotherapy by injecting antibodies from blood donors that prevent your immune system from temporarily attacking your nerves.

• A procedure to redirect blood through a machine that filters the antibodies that attack your nerves.