title: Myasthenia gravis, thymoma, and intestinal pseudo-obstruction: a case report and review.
abstract: We report a 28-year-old man who presented with intestinal pseudo-obstruction as the initial manifestation of thymoma, myasthenia gravis, and dysautonomia. The patient's autoantibody profile was characteristic of this constellation of disorders, being positive for both muscle and ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antibodies and striational antibody. Inflammatory cell infiltrates were found in the myenteric plexus of the stomach and small intestine. Review of 12 previously reported cases suggests that patients with both myasthenia gravis and dysautonomia in the context of thymoma respond poorly to therapy.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Neurology (Drs Rakocevic, Barohn, and McVey) and Pathology (Dr Damjanov), University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City and Lawrence (Dr Morte), Kansas; and the Departments of Neurology (Drs Vernino and Lennon) and Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (Dr Lennon), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Goran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rakocevic
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barohn
authors.forename: April L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: McVey
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Damjanov
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Morte
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vernino
authors.forename: Vanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lennon