[Myasthenic myopathy]

We have tested clinical and electrophysiological parameters as well as sera for specific anti-titin-antibodies in 40 myasthenic patients with thymoma, 10 with late-onset and 40 with early-onset without thymoma. We have revealed the prevalence of clinical symptoms: chew and bulbar disturbances, neck and deltoideus muscle weakness in the patients with thymoma and late-onset myasthenia gravis without thymoma. These clinical peculiarities were associated with the absence of changes in duration of minimal motor unit potential after correction for synaptic lesions by proserine injections and increase of titin-antibodies level. The clinical data, along with the results of electrophysiological and immunological studies, suggest a presence of "myasthenic myopathy" in patients with myasthenia, comorbid with thymoma, and patients with late-onset of myasthenia without thymoma.