The Anti-Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody Test in Suspected Ocular Myasthenia Gravis

Conclusion. the sensitivity of anti-achr-ab was 14.1% in suspected ocular myasthenia gravis and seropositivity in myasthenia gravis patients showed a high correlation with the presence of thyroid autoantibodies.aim. to estimate the clinical significance of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody (anti-achr-ab) levels in suspected ocular myasthenia gravis.methods. in total,144 patients complaining of fluctuating diplopia and ptosis were evaluated for serum levels of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody and their medical charts were retrospectively reviewed. subjects were classified into three groups: variable diplopia only,ptosis only,and both variable diplopia and ptosis. we investigated serum anti-achr-ab titer levels and performed thyroid autoantibody tests.results. patients' chief complaints were diplopia (n=103),ptosis (n=12),and their concurrence (n=29). abnormal anti-achr-ab was observed in 21 of 144 patients (14.1%). between the three groups,mean age,number of seropositive patients,and mean anti-achr-ab level were not significantly different (p=0.224,0.073,and 0.062,resp.). overall,27.5% of patients had abnormal thyroid autoantibodies. © 2014 jung jin lee et al.