Anti-skeletal muscle and anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in patients with thymoma without Myasthenia gravis: relation to the onset of Myasthenia gravis

• Published in: Clinica chimica acta Vol. 201; no. 3; pp. 201 - 205
• Main Authors: Ohta, Mitsuhiro, Itoh, Motohiko, Hara, Hirokazu, Itoh, Nobuyuki, Nishitani, Hiroshi, Hayashi, Kyozo, Ohta, Kiyoe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 30.09.1991; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody; Anti-skeletal muscle antibody; Antibodies - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Muscles - immunology; Myasthenia gravis; Myasthenia Gravis - blood; Myasthenia Gravis - complications; Myasthenia Gravis - immunology; Receptors, Cholinergic - immunology; Thymoma; Thymoma - blood; Thymoma - complications; Thymoma - immunology; Thymus Neoplasms - blood; Thymus Neoplasms - complications; Thymus Neoplasms - immunology; Myasthenia gravis; Thymoma; Anti-skeletal muscle antibody; Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody; Thymus pathology; Antibody; Acetylcholine; Striated muscle; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0009-8981; 1873-3492
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-8981(91)90371-I

We measured the anti-skeletal muscle (SM) antibody titers in sera from 46 patients with thymoma but without Myasthenia gravis (MG) in order to determine whether the presence of anti-SM antibody is linked to the combination of thymoma-MG, or to thymoma alone. We detected anti-SM antibodies in 18 of these sera, of which 15 had concomitantly elevated titers of anti-AChR antibodies. Moreover, 9 of whom had experienced the onset of MG after surgery. In contrast, no patient without elevations in both antibodies developed MG during the followup. We conclude that the presence of anti-SM antibodies is linked strongly with thymoma associated with MG, but not with thymoma alone.