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ID 116622
Title Alternative
Improvement after extended thymectomy
Author
Yokoishi, Michihiro Tokushima University
Content Type
Journal Article
Description
Background
It is popularly believed that myasthenia gravis (MG) patients show acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChRAb) production associated with the thymus (germinal centers, approximately 80%). It has been suggested that thymectomy can remove the area of autoantibody production. This study aimed to determine whether the solid volume of the thymus calculated using three-dimensional (3D) imaging could be used to predict the efficacy of thymectomy. Additionally, the study assessed the relationships of the solid volume with germinal centers, change in the serum AChRAb level, postoperative MG improvement, and prednisolone (PSL) dose reduction extent.
Methods
This retrospective study included 12 consecutive non-thymomatous MG patients (9 female and 3 male patients), who underwent extended thymectomy at our institution over the last 10 years. The mean patient age was 43.3 ± 14.2 years (range, 12–59 years). The study assessed the number of germinal centers per unit area, change in the serum AChRAb level, postoperative MG improvement, PSL dose reduction extent, and solid volume of the thymus.
Results
The number of germinal centers per unit area was significantly correlated with the solid volume of the thymus. The PSL dose reduction extent tended to be correlated with the solid volume.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that the solid volume of the thymus can possibly predict steroid dose reduction. Additionally, the solid volume of the thymus in 3D images is the most important indicator for predicting the efficacy of extended thymectomy.
Journal Title
PLOS ONE
ISSN
19326203
Publisher
PLOS
Volume
15
Issue
10
Start Page
e0239756
Published Date
2020-10-05
Rights
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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DOI (Published Version)
URL ( Publisher's Version )
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language
eng
TextVersion
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departments
University Hospital
Medical Sciences