Paraneoplastic intestinal pseudo-obstruction associated with high titres of Hu autoantibodies

Anti-Hu autoantibodies in high titres, as revealed with immunocytochemistry and Western blot, were present in a patient with gastrointestinal pseudo-obstruction and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) bearing the Hu antigen. Marked neuron and nerve fibre loss were found in the myenteric plexus at postmortem. These findings show that neuronopathic Hu-associated gastrointestinal pseudo-obstruction can occur as the only paraneoplastic neurological symptom in patients with SCLC.