Thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: A pathological analysis
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Date
2022-03
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Publisher
Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Abstract
Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a prototypic T-cell-dependent antibody-mediated autoimmune disease that leads to ocular or generalized muscular weakness. The disease is most commonly caused by antibodies to the acetylcholine receptors, often with underlying thymic pathology. Aims: This study is aimed at analyzing the pathological spectrum of the excised thymuses in patients with myasthenia. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective 10-year study of 68 thymectomy specimens performed as a part of the treatment of patients with MG. Statistical Analysis: Nil. Results: There were 47 males and 21 females (male to female ratio of 2.2:1) with a mean age of 41 years. Only three patients presented with ocular myasthenia. The thymus was normal in 9 patients (13.2%) and atrophic in 17 patients (25%). Follicular hyperplasia and thymomas were seen in 6 and 36 patients, respectively. Conclusion: The thymectomies performed in patients of MG had a fairly variable spectrum on histology; the thymic tumors were predominantly of the cortical phenotype.
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Keywords
Atrophy, follicular hyperplasia, myasthenia gravis, thymectomy, thymoma, thymus
Citation
Bansod S, Vaideeswar P, Ravat S, Panandikar G.. Thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: A pathological analysis. Indian Journal of Pathology & Microbiology. 2022 Mar; 65(1): 129-132