title: Significance of circulating immune complexes in myasthenia gravis.
abstract: In this study, circulating immune complexes (CICs) were isolated and characterized in the sera of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with thymoma and MG patients without any thymic lesions. High titres of antistriational antibodies in the CICs were demonstrated by an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) method in 60 per cent (15/25) MG patients with thymoma. The CICs showed a steady decrease in these 15 patients during the post thymectomy period. Antistriational antibodies in the CICs of MG patients without thymic lesions were not detected by IF method. The results of this study emphasised the usefulness of estimation of CICs in the overall management of MG patients with thymoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathai
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarada
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex