Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in myasthenia gravis. Part 3. The effect of thymectomy.

The clinical condition and the serum levels of antibodies to acetylcholine receptor protein were followed in 30 patients with myasthenia gravis before and in a period varying from 2 to 4 (mean 3) yr after thymectomy. Twenty-five patients improved in the 2 yr following thymectomy. A highly significant correlation was found between the change in clinical condition and the change in antibody levels. Only 3 patients improved without a fall of antibody level. Prethymectomy antibody levels were positively correlated with the severity of the clinical condition and with the degree of thymus hypertrophy.