Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients

Thymoma screening is recommended at the onset of myasthenia gravis (MG) or when patients with MG present with clinical deterioration or a progressive increase of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody. However, it is unknown if it is necessary to repeat the screening of thymoma at fixed intervals, even in the absence of MG deterioration, when the initial screening is negative. We analyzed the recurrence rate and incidence of new thymoma in a series of patients with well-controlled MG. The sample consisted of 53 patients, aged 17 to 72 years, and the follow-up varied between 75 and 472 months. The chest computerized tomography detected thymus abnormalities in eight patients at the initial screening and no abnormalities in all patients at a second screening after five years. The findings of this study support the classical opinion that screening for thymoma should be recommended only if there is clinical deterioration due to the disease.

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Main Authors: Lorenzoni,Paulo José, Augusto,Lucas Pires, Kay,Cláudia Suemi Kamoi, Scola,Rosana Herminia, Werneck,Lineu Cesar
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO 2013
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013000700462
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spelling oai:scielo:S0004-282X20130007004622015-10-23Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patientsLorenzoni,Paulo JoséAugusto,Lucas PiresKay,Cláudia Suemi KamoiScola,Rosana HerminiaWerneck,Lineu Cesar myasthenia gravis thymus gland thymoma tomography Thymoma screening is recommended at the onset of myasthenia gravis (MG) or when patients with MG present with clinical deterioration or a progressive increase of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody. However, it is unknown if it is necessary to repeat the screening of thymoma at fixed intervals, even in the absence of MG deterioration, when the initial screening is negative. We analyzed the recurrence rate and incidence of new thymoma in a series of patients with well-controlled MG. The sample consisted of 53 patients, aged 17 to 72 years, and the follow-up varied between 75 and 472 months. The chest computerized tomography detected thymus abnormalities in eight patients at the initial screening and no abnormalities in all patients at a second screening after five years. The findings of this study support the classical opinion that screening for thymoma should be recommended only if there is clinical deterioration due to the disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessAcademia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEUROArquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria v.71 n.7 20132013-07-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articletext/htmlhttp://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013000700462en10.1590/0004-282X20130062
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country Brasil
countrycode BR
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libraryname SciELO
language English
format Digital
author Lorenzoni,Paulo José
Augusto,Lucas Pires
Kay,Cláudia Suemi Kamoi
Scola,Rosana Herminia
Werneck,Lineu Cesar
spellingShingle Lorenzoni,Paulo José
Augusto,Lucas Pires
Kay,Cláudia Suemi Kamoi
Scola,Rosana Herminia
Werneck,Lineu Cesar
Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
author_facet Lorenzoni,Paulo José
Augusto,Lucas Pires
Kay,Cláudia Suemi Kamoi
Scola,Rosana Herminia
Werneck,Lineu Cesar
author_sort Lorenzoni,Paulo José
title Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
title_short Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
title_full Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
title_fullStr Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
title_full_unstemmed Myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
title_sort myasthenia gravis and thymus: long-term follow-up screening of thymectomized and non-thymectomized patients
description Thymoma screening is recommended at the onset of myasthenia gravis (MG) or when patients with MG present with clinical deterioration or a progressive increase of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody. However, it is unknown if it is necessary to repeat the screening of thymoma at fixed intervals, even in the absence of MG deterioration, when the initial screening is negative. We analyzed the recurrence rate and incidence of new thymoma in a series of patients with well-controlled MG. The sample consisted of 53 patients, aged 17 to 72 years, and the follow-up varied between 75 and 472 months. The chest computerized tomography detected thymus abnormalities in eight patients at the initial screening and no abnormalities in all patients at a second screening after five years. The findings of this study support the classical opinion that screening for thymoma should be recommended only if there is clinical deterioration due to the disease.
publisher Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO
publishDate 2013
url http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013000700462
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