[Myasthenia gravis and thymoma]

The article reviews age, symptoms, diagnosis, response to thymectomy, survival and concomitant disease in 15 patients with myasthenia gravis and thymoma registered in the period 1947-87. The thymomas were locally asymptomatic. The combination of roentgenological investigation and serological detection of nonreceptor muscle antibodies indicated the presence of a thymoma in 13 out of 14 patients. In eight out of nine patients with benign thymomas, myasthenic symptoms improved after thymectomy. Six out of eight patients with noninvasive thymomas survived five years, as opposed to one out of four with invasive thymomas. Associated disorders included polymyositis, myocarditis, parkinsonism and amnesia.