title: Relapse of ocular symptoms after remission of myasthenia gravis--a comparison of relapsed and complete remission cases.
abstract: Extended thymectomy and high-dose alternate-day prednisolone administration may increase the chance of remission in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. In cases of remission, ocular symptoms sometimes reappear after a gradual decrease or discontinuation of prednisolone administration. We compared relapsed patients with those who experienced complete remission. We found that the period from onset of MG to thymectomy and initiation of prednisolone administration was longer in the relapsed cases, which suggests that early thymectomy and administration of prednisolone can lead to a superior outcome in MG patients.
authors.affiliation: The Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University School of Medicine, 2-17-6 Oohashi, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8515, Japan. waka@oha.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wakata
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Nobuatu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nomoto
authors.forename: Teruyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurihara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012008:Recurrence; D013934:Thymectomy
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011239:Prednisolone