Antiacetylcholine Receptor Antibodies and Myasthenia Gravis
- Paul L. Richter, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
To the Editor.— The article "Ocular Myasthenia: Multiple Recurrences and Spontaneous Remissions" (1982; 247:62), by M. Seth Hochman, MD, was intellectually stimulating. Other neurologists1 doubt the role of antiacetylcholine receptor (anti-AChR) antibodies in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG). I find this particularly convincing to me because young myasthenics benefit from thymectomy whether or not they have detectable antibodies. Interestingly, even without antibodies and with the thymus gland removed, it is my experience that exacerbations can still be provoked by minor respiratory tract infections.
I would appreciate it if Dr Hochman could comment on multiple recurrences and spontaneous remissions without alluding to AChR anti-bodies. bodies. Second, I would like to ask if the long-lived memory T cells may explain some of the residual exacerbations occurring in thymectomized patients.
