title: Anti-MuSK antibodies: correlation with myasthenia gravis severity.
abstract: The authors measured anti-muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (anti-MuSK) antibodies (Abs) in 83 serum samples from 40 patients and evaluated their correlation with myasthenia gravis severity and treatment response. Ab concentrations were often reduced by immunosuppression but not after thymectomy. Both in individual cases and in the whole population, a correlation between Ab levels and disease severity was found.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pathology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bartoccioni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Minicuci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciaraffa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Evoli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000276:immunology*; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; C095714:MUSK protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases