title: Thymus changes in anti-MuSK-positive and -negative myasthenia gravis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lauriola
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ranelletti
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maggiano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guerriero
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Punzi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bartoccioni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evoli
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; C095714:MUSK protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases