This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
In generalized MG (GMG), 90% of patients have circulating acetylcholine receptor antibodies (AChRAb) and 80% have abnormal thymic pathology, either lymphoid follicular hyperplasia (LFH) or thymoma.1,2⇓ Whereas thymectomy for patients with thymoma is indicated, the need for surgery in the presence of atrophic thymus or LFH is hotly debated and will be the object of a therapeutic trial. We report that a proportion of patients with atrophic thymus secrete AChRAb in culture and thus might benefit from removal of the immunologically active gland.
Methods.
Patients.
All patients with GMG underwent transsternal thymectomy after a series of plasmapheresis at University of British Columbia–affiliated hospitals from April 1990 to April 1999. This article reports on the 16 patients who had a pathologic diagnosis of atrophic thymus. Diagnosis was made after review of an average of 6.9 ± 3.4 slides by a single pathologist unaware of the …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Alert Me
Recommended articles
Signs heralding appearance of thymomas after extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis
Defective regulation of IFNγ and IL-12 by endogenous IL-10 in progressive MS
Acetylcholine receptor autoantibody secretion by thymocytes: Relationship to myasthenia gravis
T-cell recognition of muscle acetylcholine receptor subunits in generalized and ocular myasthenia gravis