Myasthenia gravis and thymic Hodgkin's disease associated in one patient with familial lymphoproliferative disorders.

A 38-year-old man affected with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) was submitted to thymectomy. At surgery thymic Hodgkin's disease (granulomatous thymoma) and an area of thymic hyperplasia were found. Subsequently, after treatment with anticholinesterase and corticosteroids, the patient achieved clinical remission. The development of MG in this patient could be related to the presence of thymic hyperplasia, rather than to the granulomatous thymoma. Family history revealed that a brother of the patient was affected by non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma. Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) were identical in the two affected siblings. The present report suggests a possible link between MG and lymphoproliferative disorders whose mechanism still needs to be clarified.