Case Report: Narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity
- 1Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University
- 2Department of Neurology, Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University
Abstract
Background: Several intraneuronal antibodies have been identified in association with paraneoplastic encephalitis, including anti-Ma and anti-Yo antibodies. There is a pure case of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody.
Case presentation: We report a 42-year-old male patient who presented with recurrent cataplexy as the primary and dominant symptom without typical hyperphagia in the early stages of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity. Despite extensive screening, no underlying malignancy was detected over a 3-year disease duration. The patient exhibited significant clinical improvement following immunotherapy at the beginning.
Conclusions: This is a rare report of an isolated clinical manifestation of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody. This case reminds clinicians to notice that cataplexy could be the only early symptom of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody, which can easily lead to misdiagnoses. Autoimmune mechanisms may play an important role in the pathogenesis of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity, and prompt immunotherapy offers a promising approach for its management.
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BibTeX
@article{lv2026case,
title = {{Case Report: Narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity}},
author = {Yefan Lv and Hui Lv and Yike Huang and Xiaoyan Long and Jinxia Zhou},
journal = {Frontiers in Immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1942979},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1942979/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Case Report: Narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity
AU - Yefan Lv
AU - Hui Lv
AU - Yike Huang
AU - Xiaoyan Long
AU - Jinxia Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1942979
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1942979/full
AB - Background: Several intraneuronal antibodies have been identified in association with paraneoplastic encephalitis, including anti-Ma and anti-Yo antibodies. There is a pure case of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody. Case presentation: We report a 42-year-old male patient who presented with recurrent cataplexy as the primary and dominant symptom without typical hyperphagia in the early stages of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity. Despite extensive screening, no underlying malignancy was detected over a 3-year disease duration. The patient exhibited significant clinical improvement following immunotherapy at the beginning. Conclusions: This is a rare report of an isolated clinical manifestation of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody. This case reminds clinicians to notice that cataplexy could be the only early symptom of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity with concomitant anti-Yo antibody, which can easily lead to misdiagnoses. Autoimmune mechanisms may play an important role in the pathogenesis of narcolepsy associated with anti-Ma2 antibody positivity, and prompt immunotherapy offers a promising approach for its management.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -