Thymus changes in anti-MuSK-positive and -negative myasthenia gravis.
Morphologic findings of thymuses from 32 anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-negative myasthenia gravis patients, 12 with and 20 without antibodies against the muscle-specific kinase (MuSK), were compared with those from 30 AChR-positive subjects. In contrast with the high frequency of thymic hyperplastic changes in AChR-positive patients, in MuSK-positive subjects histologic alterations were minimal, arguing against an intrathymic disease pathogenesis. Since hyperplastic changes were seen in 35% of MuSK-negative patients, the thymus could be involved in some of these cases.
Lauriola
L
L
Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Ranelletti
F
F
Maggiano
N
N
Guerriero
M
M
Punzi
C
C
Marsili
F
F
Bartoccioni
E
E
Evoli
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001284:Atrophy; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000276:immunology*; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013934:Thymectomy; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; C095714:MUSK protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases