title: Thymoma hyalinized by steroid therapy in myasthenia gravis.
abstract: We encountered a 72-year-old woman with myasthenia gravis and thymoma who received glucocorticoid therapy for respiratory failure before undergoing thymectomy. After the antiacetylcholine receptor antibody titer was normalized, and the thymoma shrunk with prednisolone, the patient was free from symptoms. On pathological examination, the majority of the thymoma (type B2) had been hyalinized. Preoperative steroid therapy was effective in stabilizing myasthenia gravis and in inducing apoptosis of both epithelial and lymphocytic components of the thymoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Medicine, and Department of Neurology, Mita Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. yyoshida-tky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murakawa
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakajima
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006818:Hyalin; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011239:Prednisolone