Case Report
Intermittent Atrioventricular Block following
Fingolimod Initiation
E. Gialafos, S. Gerakoulis, A. Grigoriou, V. Haina, C. Kilidireas,
E. Stamboulis, and E. Andreadou
Department of Neurology, Athens National and Kapodistrian University, “Aeginition” Hospital, 11528 Athens, Greece
Correspondence should be addressed to E. Andreadou; eandread@med.uoa.gr
Received 13 April 2014; Accepted 14 July 2014; Published 5 August 2014
Academic Editor: Isabella Laura Simone
Copyright © 2014 E. Gialafos et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
A 47-year-old female patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) developed symptomatic intermittent 2nd degree atrioventricular block
(AVB) of ive-hour duration, ive hours ater the irst two doses of ingolimod, that resolved completely. Frequency domain analysis
of heart rate variability (HRV) revealed increased parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic tone, while modiied Ewing
tests were suggestive of impaired cardiac sympathetic function. We hypothesize that expression of this particular arrhythmia might
be related to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction due to demyelinating lesions in the upper thoracic spinal cord, possibly
augmented by the parasympathetic efect of the drug.
1. Background
Fingolimod is an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor
modulator used for the treatment of relapsing-remitting form
of multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Although the drug is safe,
certain side efects exist, with cardiac abnormalities, macular
edema, and elevation of liver enzymes being the most severe
[1, 2]. he mechanism possibly attributed to cardiac abnor-
malities seems to be the activation of G-protein-coupled
inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels mediated
by S1P on atrial myocytes [3]. In clinical trials, ingolimod
induces a transient decrease in heart rate, reaching maximum
plasma concentration at 4-5 h ater the irst dose and attenuat-
ing over time with continued dosing [4]. In the FIRST study, a
4-month, open-label, phase 3b, multicenter study evaluating
mainly cardiac safety during treatment initiation in a real
word population with RRMS, palpitations and bradycardia
were the most common cardiac abnormalities, with second-
degree AVB being rare [2].
We report a female MS patient who developed reversible
symptomatic Weckenbach type of AVB ater the irst two
doses of ingolimod and discuss the underlying mechanisms
possibly involved in the pathophysiology of this adverse
event.
2. Case Report
A 47-year-old female with RRMS diagnosed 8 years ago
presented with an acute relapse characterized by numbness of
the right leg, which started from the toes and ascended up to
the right knee. he patient had been discontinuously treated
with interferon beta-1b for two separate semesters in the past
and had decided to stop treatment on her own 4 years ago,
because of lu-like symptoms. he patient is a smoker and her
family history revealed MS in her 48-year-old sister and her
cousin.
Neurological examination revealed impairment of vibra-
tion and joint position sense in both lower extremities
and decreased sensation of pain and light touch in the
right leg. Brain MRI showed demyelinating lesions in T2-
weighted images in the cerebral hemispheres and one T1
gadolinium-enhancing lesion located at the right upper and
middle cerebellar peduncle (Figure 1(a): (A)–(C)). Spinal
cord imaging revealed lesions opposite to C6-C7 and C7-
C8 vertebral discs and one gadolinium-enhancing lesion
located opposite the T1-T2 vertebra (Figure 1(a): (D)–(F)).
he patient was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone
1 g daily for 5 days with clinical improvement. hereater,
treatment initiation with ingolimod was decided, because
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Neurological Medicine
Volume 2014, Article ID 191305, 4 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/191305