title: Acetylcholine receptor antibody and clinical response to thymectomy in myasthenia gravis.
abstract: We studied serum anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody and clinical response to thymectomy in myasthenia gravis for 1 to 3 1/2 years postoperatively in 25 patients who did not receive immunosuppressive drugs. Clinical grade was assessed "blind." Mean final anti-AChR values were significantly reduced compared with thymectomy values (69.6 +/- 7.5% SEM; p less than 0.05). Anti-AChR fell steadily to 42-15% in the six patients who developed remission. Overall, there was a significant correlation between changes in anti-AChR and in clinical grade at 1 year (p less than 0.01) and at final assessment (p less than 0.001). An association between fall in anti-AChR and clinical improvement was absent in five individuals and not accounted for by change in antibody characteristics.
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000276:immunology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000276:immunology*; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D013934:Thymectomy
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D000109:Acetylcholine