Acetylcholine receptor antibody and clinical response to thymectomy in myasthenia gravis

Abstract
We studied serum anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody and clinical response to thymectomy in myasthenia gravis for 1 to 31/2 years postoperatively in 25 patients who did not receive immunosuppressive drugs. Clinical grade was assessed “blind.” Mean final anti-AChR values were significantly reduced compared with thymectomy values (69.6 ± 7.5%, SEM; p < 0.05). Anti-AChR fell steadily to 42-15% in the six patients who developed remission. Overall, there was a significant correlation between changes in anti-AChR and in clinical grade at 1 year (p < 0.01) and at final assessment (p < 0.001). An association between fall in anti-AChR and clinical improvement was absent in five individuals and not accounted for by change in antibody characteristics.

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