Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Case Report

A case of generalized argyria presenting with muscle weakness: Inha Jung, Eun-Jeong Joo, Byung seong Suh, Cheol-Bae Ham, Ji-Min Han, You-Gyung Kim, Joon-Sup Yeom, Ju-Yeon Choi, Ji-Hye Park; Ann Occup Environ Med 2017;29:45. Published online October 2, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-017-0201-0

Background

Argyria is a rare irreversible cutaneous pigmentation disorder caused by prolonged exposure to silver. Herein, we report a case of generalized argyria that developed after chronic ingestion of soluble silver-nano particles and presented with muscle weakness.

Case presentation

A 74-year-old woman visited our emergency room, complaining of fever and mental deterioration. She was diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis and recovered after antibiotic therapy. At presentation, diffuse slate gray-bluish pigmented patches were noticed on her face and nails. Two months prior to visiting our hospital, she was diagnosed with inflammatory myopathy and given steroid therapy at another hospital. We performed a nerve conduction study that revealed polyneuropathy. In skin biopsies from pigmented areas of the forehead and nose, the histopathologic results showed brown-black granules in basement membranes of sweat gland epithelia, which are diagnostic findings of argyria. We reviewed pathology slides obtained from the left thigh muscles and found markedly degenerated myofibers with disorganization of myofibrils without inflammatory reactions, consistent with unspecified myopathy, rather than inflammatory myopathy. The patient was diagnosed with generalized argyria with polyneuropathy and myopathy and transferred to a rehabilitation institution after being tapered off of steroids.

Conclusions

Clinicians should be aware of clinical manifestations of argyria and consider it in differential diagnosis when they examine patients who present with skin pigmentation and muscle weakness.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Blue Nail Discoloration: Literature Review and Diagnostic Algorithms
Jonathan K. Hwang, Shari R. Lipner
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology.2023; 24(3): 419. CrossRef
Systemic argyria with severe anemia (hemoglobin 2.4 g/L)
Nathan Chow, Kristen Fain, Jay Truitt, Cloyce Stetson
Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.2022; 35(3): 382. CrossRef
Pigmentación exógena por nitrato de plata: aspectos dermatológicos y toxicológicos, a propósito de un caso
Ángela Londoño, Camila Pérez, Rodrigo Restrepo, Nathalie Morales, Miguel Martínez, Daniela Morales
Biomédica.2021; 41(2): 234. CrossRef
Clinical and Forensic Aspects of the Different Subtypes of Argyria
Luís Mota, Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira
Journal of Clinical Medicine.2021; 10(10): 2086. CrossRef
The Food Matrix and the Gastrointestinal Fluids Alter the Features of Silver Nanoparticles
Laurie Laloux, Donika Kastrati, Sébastien Cambier, Arno C. Gutleb, Yves‐Jacques Schneider
Small.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Azure lunulae
Ramón García‐Galaviz, Braulio Martínez‐Benítez, Judith Domínguez‐Cherit
International Journal of Dermatology.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
The impact of bacterial size on their survival in the presence of cationic particles of nano-silver
Samir A. Anuj, Harsukh P. Gajera, Darshna G. Hirpara, Baljibhai A. Golakiya
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology.2020; 61: 126517. CrossRef
Bacterial membrane destabilization with cationic particles of nano-silver to combat efflux-mediated antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria
Samir A. Anuj, Harsukh P. Gajera, Darshna G. Hirpara, Baljibhai A. Golakiya
Life Sciences.2019; 230: 178. CrossRef
N-Acetylcysteine reverses silver nanoparticle intoxication in rats
Monique Culturato Padilha Mendonça, Luiz Bandeira Ferreira, Cintia Rizoli, Ângela Giovana Batista, Mário Roberto Maróstica Júnior, Emanueli do Nascimento da Silva, Solange Cadore, Nelson Durán, Maria Alice da Cruz-Höfling, Marcelo Bispo de Jesus
Nanotoxicology.2019; 13(3): 326. CrossRef
Peripheral neuropathy associated with silver toxicity
Elie Naddaf, Peter J. Dyck, Paul J. Jannetto, David L. Murray, P. James B. Dyck
Neurology.2019; 92(10): 481. CrossRef

218 View
1 Download
11 Web of Science
10 Crossref

First
Prev
Page of 1
Next
Last

Search