Anti-skeletal muscle and anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in patients with thymoma without myasthenia gravis: relation to the onset of myasthenia gravis.
We measured the anti-skeletal muscle (SM) antibody titers in sera from 46 patients with thymoma but without Myasthenia gravis (MG) in order to determine whether the presence of anti-SM antibody is linked to the combination of thymoma-MG, or to thymoma alone. We detected anti-SM antibodies in 18 of these sera, of which 15 had concomitantly elevated titers of anti-AChR antibodies. Moreover, 9 of whom had experienced the onset of MG after surgery. In contrast, no patient without elevations in both antibodies developed MG during the followup. We conclude that the presence of anti-SM antibodies is linked strongly with thymoma associated with MG, but not with thymoma alone.
Ohta
M
M
Clinical Research Center, Utano National Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.
Itoh
M
M
Hara
H
H
Itoh
N
N
Nishitani
H
H
Hayashi
K
K
Ohta
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000276:immunology*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
D000906:Antibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic