title: [Determination and clinical significance of serum anti-ryanodine receptor antibody in patients with myasthenia gravis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the clinical significance of serum anti-ryanodine receptor (RyR) antibody in the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG).
  
  
  METHODS
  The crude sarcoplasmic reticulum was prepared from rabbit skeletal muscle, and then purified by differential centrifugation to produce the antigen. The serum anti-RyR antibody levels in 74 patients with MG (including 21 patients with comorbidic thymomas) were determined with ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Western blot demonstrated the presence of RyR in purified crude sarcoplasmic reticulum. The positive rate of anti-RyR antibody was significantly higher in MG patients who had comorbidic thymoma compared with those who had no such comorbidity (P < 0.01). Also, the positive rate was closely correlated with the severity of MG.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum anti-RyR antibody test is helpful in the diagnosis of MG associated with thymoma and can be used to judge the outcome of MG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, PUMC Hospital, CAMS and PUMC, Beijing 100730, China. pumchcly@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Li-Ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Yan-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jun-Bao
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel / Q000276:immunology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel