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Neonatal Myasthenia Gravis in the Infant of an Asymptomatic Thymectomized Mother

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

C. Warren Olanow ,
Russell J.M. Lane ,
Keith L. Hull Jr.  and
Allen D. Roses
C. Warren Olanow*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Russell J.M. Lane
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Keith L. Hull Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Allen D. Roses
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
*
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710
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A case of neonatal myasthenia gravis is reported in the infant of an asymptomatic thymectomized mother with comparably elevated acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody titers. The mother remained asymptomatic despite elevated antibody titers while the infant became asymptomatic in association with the disappearance of the AChR antibody. It is suggested that the AChR antibody plays an essential role in the development of neonatal myasthenia gravis. It is also suggested that a thymic factor is necessary for the development of clinical symptomatology accounting for the lack of correlation between the clinical state of the mother and infant.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , May 1982 , pp. 85 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1982

References

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