Work

Acetylcholine receptor antibody as a diagnostic test for myasthenia gravis: results in 153 validated cases and 2967 diagnostic assays.

Year: 1985

Type: article

Abstract: Anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody was undetectable in 26/153 (17%) sera from myasthenia gravis patients assayed by standard RIA using human acetylcholine receptor. Eight of these were found to be positive with a modified protocol using a mixture of normal and denervated AChR, reducing the proportion of "negative" sera to 12%. Many of these were from patients with a short history; two such patients later developed low positive values. Anti-AChR without clinical evidence of myasthenia was found in one of three monozygotic twins of myasthenia gravis patients, and in one of thirty other first degree relatives of a further 17 patients. Anti-AChR is a valuable and highly specific diagnostic test which, with the assay used here, is positive in about 88% of patients with clinical features of myasthenia gravis.

Source: Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.48.12.1246

Authors: A Vincent, J Newsom-Davis

Institution: The Royal Free Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma

Subfield: Clinical Neurology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Medical Research Council