myastenia

Neurologic manifestations are present in about 10-20 percent of patients with trichinosis. They could be a serious diagnostic problem in the absence of corresponding epidemiological data and typical symptoms and signs of the disease. In untreated patients the mortality rate is about 50%. Several pathogenic mechanisms are responsible for the neurological complications in trichinosis: obstruction of brain blood vessels by larvae, cysts or granulomas, toxic vasculitis with secondary thrombosis and haemorrhages, granulomatous inflammation of the brain parenchyma and allergic reaction...

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE: Myasthenia gravis is a one of the rare autoimmune diseases with a well-defined antigen. Autoantibodies directed against the muscular acetylcholine receptor (AChR) play a key role, blocking the acetylchoroquine binding site and provoking accelerated receptor degradation; complement destroys the post-synaptic membrane. Disease severity is correlated with extent of AChR loss. THYMUS: Involvement of the thymus is suggested by the beneficial effect of thymectomy and by histological and functional anomalies (modified cellular composition, abnormally activated lymphocytes, sensitivization of certain lymphocytes to AChR)...

Forty-three primary mediastinal tumors or cysts were surgically treated in 41 patients during a 10-year period. These tumors consisted of 20 thymic tumors, 10 neurogenic tumors, 5 teratomas, 3 lymphoid tumors, 2 congenital cysts, 2 mediastinal thyroid tumors, and 1 chondroma. There were 16 male and 25 female patients. The mean age was 44 years with a range of 6 to 79 years. Sixteen patients (39%) were symptomatic. There were 20 thymic tumors including 13 thymomas, 5 thymic cysts, and 2 hyperplasia with myastenia...

Extended thymectomy in conjunction with a collar incision of the neck was performed thoracoscopically for a 64-year-old women with myasthenia gravis. Although this patient had Osserman type II B myasthenia gravis not associated with a thymoma, the clinical symptoms were alleviated after the surgery. Although this surgical procedure has the disadvantage such as of being time-consuming, it also has various advantages such as: 1) extended thymectomy can be performed without a midsternotomy, 2) the wound is small and not prominent, 3) surgical invasiveness is slight, and 4) postoperative pain is mild...

To investigate the role of the acetylcholine receptor (AchR) in the pathogenesis of paraneoplastic Myasthenia gravis (MG), we screened a cDNA library of a MG-associated thymoma with a DNA oligonucleotide coding for aa 371-378, i.e. for part of the very immunogenic cytoplasmatic epitope (VICE-alpha, aa 373-380) of the human AChR alpha-subunit. We isolated two cDNA clones. Analysis of these clones has identified an open reading frame of 1371 bp, coding for the AChR alpha-subunit. No point mutation, insertion or deletion could be detected...

We reported a case of 53-year-old male who was admitted to our hospital for ptosis and difficulty in chewing. Because of positive for Tensilon test and high dose anti-acetylcoline receptor antibody, we established diagnosis for myasthenia gravis. Additionally he was pointed out a cystic lesion at anterior superior mediastinum on CT and MRI. As a result we diagnosed him as thymic cyst with myastenia gravis. The extended thymectomy was performed. Histological examination revealed that the mass was a multilocular thymic cyst which is reported by Suster, who suggested that the multilocular thymic cyst arises from processes of reactions to an acquired inflammatory change...

By the method of injection and clearance and by some histological techniques, it has been demonstrated in 59 rabbits that hypokinesia of various duration produces certain effect on blood vessels of the sympathetic trunk. The most intensive vascular changes (narrowing, uneven lumen, a considerable venous congestion) develop after hypokinesia of 3-4 week's duration. The first changes in angioarchitectonics of the sympathetic trunk are discovered in the sacral part of the sympathetic trunk. Reflectory effects and myastenia of the cardiac muscle at hypokinesia are the factors resulting in venous congestion...

The case of a 46 year-old man who had a locked-in syndrome is reported. The patient had a haemorragic vascular accident with tetraplegia, anartria, vertical ocular movements and preservation of the consciousness. The EEG showed a projected disturbance possibly caused by a brain-stem lesion, that was confirmed by the CAT SCAN. Cerebral angiography showed high level of aterosclerosis. The lesion is located in the ventral part of the pons above the nucleus of the abducent nerve, without damaging the substantia reticularis of the mesencephalon and can be caused by thrombosis of the basilar artery and tumor, myastenia gravis, polyneurites, heroin overdose, after swine-flu inoculation and post-infectious polyneurites...

The time and modalities of degradation of the muscles acetylcholine receptor have been studied by several investigator, both in vivo and in vitro and under normal and pathological condition. The metod employed in this study for assessment of possible changes in the degradation to age involves the valutation of several parameters. These are explained and discussed. The preliminary results show the turnover of the receptor for junction acetylcholine, which is known to be considerably accellerated in conditions such denervation and myastenia, is slowed down during senescence...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Authors review the different theoretical and practical problems of childhood and adolescent myastenia gravis, including the heterogeneous group of congenital myasthenia and the big casuistics of the literature. There are reports on 113 cases with childhood myasthenia gravis and 96 cases of adolescent myasthenia. Ratio of these forms ranged 10.76% in childhood myasthenia and 9.14% in adolescent age, resp., 19.9% of the whole patient material. A classification is given concerning juvenile myasthenia: 1. Neonatal (transitory) myasthenia...

In the management of Myastenia gravis thymectomy has gained an important position. Still in discussion is whether a transsternal approach gives a superior result to a collar approach. Between 1970 and 1986 35 patients with Myasthenia gravis underwent thymectomy, in 12 by a collar approach, in 19 by sternotomy and 4 by thoracotomy. Results were equivalent independent of the approach but only after transsternal incision complications occurred in 3 patients. At 6 months after operation 18 of 35 patients were classified in a lower category following Ossermann's classification, an other 12 were stable and in 5 the information unobtainable...

In the present review we discuss new clinical indications for IVIG therapy. Presently, clinical studies are under way to examine the effect of IVIG in uncommon diseases such as intractable epilepsy in children, myastenia gravis and necrotizing hemorrhagic enteritis. These considerable efforts in clinical research will most likely lead to new established indications for the use of IVIG.

A patient who developed generalized autoimmune myasthenia gravis six years after the spontaneous remission of a stiff-man syndrome is described. He also suffered from chronic active hepatitis and had radiological evidence of a thymoma. He did not have diabetes mellitus. Besides anti-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antibodies, anti-nuclear, anti-DNA, anti-mitochondrial and anti-skeletal muscle antibodies were found in his serum, while islet-cell antibodies were absent. Immunocytochemistry studies failed to demonstrate autoantibodies to GABA-ergic nerve terminals, although an aspecific neuronal immunostaining was observed...

A case of primary hyperparathyroidism with prevalent neuromuscular symptoms is described. Clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic implications are emphasized. Particular attention must involve a full clinical examination, electromyographic data and neuromuscular biopsy to make differentiation from primary myopathy or denervation pathology. Some similarity of electromyographic data with those observed in botulism and myastenia gravis should also be taken in mind. Hypercalcemia could play a pathological role in conditioning abnormalities of nervous impulse conduction at the level of neuromuscular junction...

Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) has been used to treat three female patients with myastenia gravis. No other immunosuppressive agent was used. All three cases responded favourably to ATG therapy. This suggest that further work should be undertaken in this field though the condition itself is extremely variable and this study was not controlled.