title: Myasthenia gravis: predictive factors associated with the synchronized elevation of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody titer in Kanazawa, Japan.
abstract: For a brief period, an increased incidence of elevated anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody titer was observed in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) in Kanazawa, Japan. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive factors associated with this antibody titer elevation. Decreased odds of titer elevation were seen in patients with early-onset MG than in those with late-onset MG. In patients with non-thymoma-related MG, thymectomy prevented the antibody titer elevation. Our data suggest that late-onset MG may have a different immunogenic response and the thymus might play an immunoregulatory role against extrinsic factors in some types of MG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan. Electronic address: neuiwasa@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwasa
authors.affiliation: Health Service Center, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Miharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samuraki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Moeko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D013934:Thymectomy; D013945:Thymoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic
keywords: Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody; Autoimmunity; Myasthenia gravis; Predictive factor