title: Comparison and standardization of measurement of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody between laboratories.
abstract: The presence of autoantibodies to the acetylcholine receptor (anti-AChR) is useful in the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, and their titre correlates with severity of the disease. Standardization of their measurement is therefore clinically important. Six laboratories world-wide were asked to determine anti-AChR under local conditions in coded samples and to repeat the measurement on the same samples recorded. There was a high degree of consensus over rank order of the samples but a wide systematic variation in the titres obtained. Standardization of units is an important next step in improving the comparability of anti-AChR data between laboratories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bonifacio
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Cobain
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kalden
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Peter
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tindall
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000175:diagnosis; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D012015:Reference Standards; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic