• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.203-205
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• 2006

There have been several reports about coexistence of myasthenia and other autoimmune disease. Psoriasis is a papulosquamous disease defined by erythematous plaques with a silvery scale and a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease. We report a case of a 49-year-old man with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) superimposed by psoriasis. MG was diagnosed by clinical symptoms, increased acetylcholine receptor antibody titer and repetitive nerve stimulation test. Psoriasis was diagnosed by clinical manifestations and specific skin biopsy findings. MG and psoriasis are both autoimmune diseases. The coexistence of MG and psoriasis suggest a close connection of pathogenesis.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.182-185
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• 2006

Various immunotherapeutic modalities have been used based on the autoimmune pathogenic mechanisms of myasthenia gravis (MG). Cell-mediated immunity as well as auto-antibodies may play a role in the remission and relapse of MG. We recently experienced two patients with MG who showed spontaneous remission after inadvertent severe leukopenia. These findings suggest that the cell-mediated immune process is important in the treatment of MG, and selective suppression of leukocyte may induce remission in the patients with intractable MG.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1516-1522
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• 1992

Thirty patients with myasthenis gravis[MG] underwent transternal extended thymectomy between 1983 and 1992 in Pusan National University Hospital. The age of patients was 11 to 62 years[mean; 35.2 years] with female dominant[M: F=l: 4]. According to modified Osserman classification, group I was in 6, II A in 7, II B in 13, III in 2, IV in 2 patients respectively. Their clinical response to thymectomy was evaluated. The follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 9.5 years[average; 51.3 months]. Fourteen patients[13.3%] had remission and eleven[43.3%] were improved after operation; half of patients were benefited from operation. Twenty patients had thymic hyperplasia and seven had non-infiltrating thymoma. In thymomatous MG one patient had remission and five were improved. Postoperative death was in a female patient. The cause of death was respiratory failure in the severe generalized MG preoperatively.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.844-849
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• 1992

Between 1979 and 1991 thymectomy was performed on 31 patients with myasthenia gravis at the department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, Keimyung University medical school. All patients were treated by transsternal thymectomy. During follow-up period that ranged from a month to 10.7 years[mean 2 years], the remission rate for the entire group was 16.1 percent and an additional 71.0 percent had improvement [87.1 percent benefited]. In those 8 patients with thymoma, the remission rate was 12.5 percent with 75.0 percent of the patients benefiting from operations The remainimg 23 patients fared better the operations: 17.4 percent had remission and a total of 91.4 percent benefited. There was no mortality, I concluded that most patients with myasthenia gravis will benefit from thymectomy, and that the improvement persists over an extended period of time in a high percentage of patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.736-743
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• 1986

Thymus gland is a kind of endocrine organ which secretes thymosin and thymoprotein. There can be developed variable lesions like thymoma, thymic hyperplasia, thymic cyst, thymolipoma, and carcinoid tumor of the thymus gland. We have experienced 25 patients of thymic disease: thymoma 12, thymic hyperplasia 11, thymic cyst 1, carcinoid tumor 1. The age distribution were ranged from 3 to 66 years and the sex ratio was 1:1.8 [male to female]. Thymectomy was performed in all cases, but 3 cases with deep infiltration to the adjacent structures were not resectable completely. Malignancy [all thymoma] were 5 and the rest were benign. Two cases were died of recurrence after tumor resection. Myasthenia gravis occurred in 10 cases. Among them, 2 were thymoma and 8 were thymic hyperplasia. We could obtained the result that thymectomized cases reached 2 remission and 5 improvement. Myasthenia gravis treated medically [18 cases] had no remission and only 2 clinical improvement. In the light of these results, early radical thymectomy would be most favorable treatment in not only thymic tumor, but generalized myasthenia gravis.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.74-77
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• 2006

Repetitive nerve stimulation is a simple and widely used technique to demonstrate neuromuscular transmission defect. A significant decremental response for repetitive hypoglossal nerve stimulation was obtained from the surface recordings in the tongue of a patient with dysarthria and dysphagia. Repetitive hypoglossal nerve stimulation test may be useful in diagnosis of myasthenia gravis with bulbar symptoms only. We utilized repetitive hypoglossal nerve stimulation with tongue recordings and diagnosed a case of myasthenia gravis.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.58-60
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• 2005

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is occasionally associated with other autoimmune diseases. Alopecia areata has been reported to coincide with MG, particularly with thymoma. A 14-year-old woman was diagnosed as having MG. Seven months before diagnosed with MG, her hair and eyebrows had began to disappear and alopecia areata was diagnosed. We report this patient as a rare case of MG associated with alopecia areata without thymoma.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.51-58
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• 2007

Autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG) is the neuromuscular junction disorder mostly caused by antibody against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR antibody) at the muscle endplate. The goal of treatment is to induce and maintain remission, i.e., absence of symptoms, with the least cost-to-benefit ratio. Although corticosteroids are effective in inducing remission in most patients, they have numerous potentially serious adverse effects with their long-term use. In addition, some patients do not respond or are intolerant to the conventional treatment. In this article, we discuss the difficulties encountered in long-term immunosuppressive treatment of MG, and review useful tips for the use of corticosteroids. Long-term immunosuppressive agents that can be used in steroid-refractory or -dependent patients will be reviewed with their safety profiles and efficacy in MG.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.136-144
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report on the alleviation of symptoms of a myasthenia gravis (MG) patient after Korean medicine treatment. Methods: A 39 year-old male patient who suffered from MG was examined. The patient was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, and pharmacopuncture. The Myasthenia Gravis Composite (MGC) scale and Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) profile were used to assess the change of MG symptoms after Korean medicine treatment. Results: The MGC and MG-ADL scores indicated significant improvement after 14 days of treatment. In addition, the degrees of fatigue, dyspepsia, vomiting, sweating, and dizziness were decreased. Conclusion: This study may suggest that Korean medicine treatment could be effective in treating the symptoms of MG.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.225-230
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• 1990

Twenty one patients of malignant thymoma treated with curative aim at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology of Seoul National University Hospital from 1979 to 1987 were analysed retrospectively. The 3 year overall and relapse free survival rate was $80.5\%\;and\;78.6$, respectively. Myasthenia gravis (MG) was seen in $43.5\%$ at presentation and disappeared in $40\%$ (4/10) after radiotherapy with or without operation. The 3 year cumulative survival rate with and without MG was $90\;and\;78.8\%$, respectively. We could consider that MG was no longer adverse prognostic factor. The complete response rate after partial resection was $100\%$ (3/3), and that after biopsy was $20\%$(3/15). The overall local control rate including complete and partial response rate ($33\;vs\;56\%$)was$89\%$ and the 3 year actuarial survival rate by the response rate was $88.9\%\;and\;81.7\%$, respectively. There was no statistically significant survival difference between two groups. The crude rate of relapse at 3 years was $23.8\%$ (5/21), and $80\%$ (4/5) were locoregional failures. All failures were observed in biopsy only group, while no failure was observed in resected group. The major pattern of the treatment failure was the locoregional failure and the distant metastases was rarely observed.